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Maureen E. Williams (Fed)

My research is focused on Sn whiskers. I am currently the project leader of the NIST Sn Whisker Project. This project is working on the fundamental growth mechanism of Sn whiskers.

Since 1999 I have been involved in the International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (iNEMI) Sn whisker projects and from 2001 until 2007 was co-chair of the iNEMI Sn Whisker Modeling Group.  In 2009 I represented NIST on a team of sixteen nationally-recognized expert scientists and engineers on Phases 1 & 2 of the Lead Free Electronics Manhattan Project (LFMP), sponsored by the Office of Naval Research and the Joint Defense Manufacturing Technology Panel, to address the serious reliability threat from lead-free solders and surface finishes that are infiltrating critical aerospace and defense systems. The third phase of the LFMP project, re-named the Lead-free Electronics Risk Reduction Program, has articulated eighty research and development (R&D) tasks needed to address the lead-free technology knowledge gaps and funding is being sought to implement this R&D program.  My areas of interest include scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Focused Ion Beam (FIB), and x-ray diffraction.



 

Publications

Robust Bottom-Up Gold Filling of Deep Trenches and Gratings

Author(s)
Daniel Josell, William Alexander Osborn, Maureen E. Williams
This work extends application of an extreme variant of superconformal Au electrodeposition to deeper device architectures while exploring factors that constrain

NEMI Tin Whisker Test Method Standards

Author(s)
I Boguslavsky, P Bush, E Kam-Lum, M Kwoka, J McCullen, K Spalding, K Vo, Maureen E. Williams
The need to better understand whisker growth has dramatically increased as component suppliers convert from tin-lead (SnPb) finishes to Pb-free finishes of Sn
Created October 9, 2019, Updated December 8, 2022