B-staging is a process that utilizes
heat
In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is ...
or
UV light
Ultraviolet (UV) is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelength from 10 nm (with a corresponding frequency around 30 PHz) to 400 nm (750 THz), shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays. UV radiation i ...
to remove the majority of
solvent
A solvent (s) (from the Latin '' solvō'', "loosen, untie, solve") is a substance that dissolves a solute, resulting in a solution. A solvent is usually a liquid but can also be a solid, a gas, or a supercritical fluid. Water is a solvent for ...
from an
adhesive, thereby allowing a construction to be “staged”. In between adhesive application, assembly and curing, the product can be held for a period of time, without sacrificing performance.
Attempts to use traditional
epoxies
The Epoxies were an American new wave band from Portland, Oregon, formed in 2000. Heavily influenced by new wave, the band jokingly described themselves as robot garage rock. Members included FM Static on synthesizers, guitarist Viz Spectrum, l ...
in
IC packaging
In electronics manufacturing, integrated circuit packaging is the final stage of semiconductor device fabrication, in which the block of semiconductor material is encapsulated in a supporting case that prevents physical damage and corrosion. ...
often created expensive production bottlenecks, because, as soon as the epoxy adhesive was applied, the components had to be assembled and cured immediately. B-staging eliminates these bottlenecks by allowing the IC manufacturing to proceed efficiently, with each step performed on larger batches of product.
B stage laminates are also used in the
electronic circuit board industry, where the laminates are reinforced with woven glass fibers called
prepregs. This allows manufacturers to have clean and accurate setup for multilayer pressing of cores and prepregs for production of PCBs, without the need to hassle with liquid uncured epoxies.
References
Semiconductor device fabrication
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