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Factory floor life is 1 week for MSL 3, SIM68R must be processed and soldered within the time. If this time is
exceeded, or the humidity indicator card in the sealed package indicates that they have been exposed to moisture,
the devices need to be pre-baked before the reflow solder process.
Both encapsulate and substrate materials absorb moisture. IPC/JEDEC specification J-STD-020 must be observed
to prevent cracking and delamination associated with the "popcorn" effect during reflow soldering. The popcorn
effect can be described as miniature explosions of evaporating moisture. Baking before processing is required in
the following cases:
z
Humidity indicator card: At least one circular indicator is no longer blue
z
Floor life or environmental requirements after opening the seal have been exceeded, e.g. exposure to
excessive seasonal humidity.
Refer to Section 4 of IPC/JEDEC J-STD-033 for recommended baking procedures.
Notes: Oxidation Risk: Baking SMD packages may cause oxidation and/or inter metallic growth of the terminations, which if
excessive can result in solder ability problems during board assembly. The temperature and time for baking SMD packages are
therefore limited by solder ability considerations. The cumulative bake time at a temperature greater than 90°C and up to 125°C
shall not exceed 96 hours.
6.4
ESD handling precautions
SIM68R modules are Electrostatic Sensitive Devices (ESD). Observe precautions for handling!
Failure to observe these precautions can result in severe damage to the GNSS receiver!
GNSS receivers are Electrostatic Sensitive Devices (ESD) and require special precautions when handling.
Particular care must be exercised when handling patch antennas, due to the risk of electrostatic charges. In
addition to standard ESD safety practices, the following measures should be taken into account whenever
handling the receiver:
Unless there is a galvanic coupling between the local GND (i.e. the work Table) and the PCB GND, then the first
point of contact when handling the PCB shall always be between the local GND and PCB GND.
Before mounting an antenna patch, connect ground of the device
When handling the RF pin, do not come into contact with any charged capacitors and be careful when contacting
materials that can develop charges (e.g. patch antenna ~10pF, coax cable ~50-80pF/m, soldering iron, …)
To prevent electrostatic discharge through the RF input, do not touch the mounted patch antenna.
When soldering RF connectors and patch antennas to the receiver’s RF pin, the user must make sure to use an
ESD safe soldering iron (tip).
6.5
Shipment
SIM68R is designed and packaged to be processed in an automatic assembly line, and it is now packaged in
SIM68R tray.
SIM68R_Hardware Design_V1.02
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2013-01-22