Chemical silver-plating, one of the latest lines introduced at ICS, is a finishing treatment which allows a coat of 0.25-micron-thick silver to be laid on the areas involved (not protected by solder resist).

From an ecological point of view, the advantage of this finish is not only 100% elimination of lead from the finished product, but also elimination of the metallic inner layer between the copper and the tin or the tin-lead alloy.

Moreover, the affinity of silver with the solder paste ensures that it dissolves in the paste, thus allowing direct soldering between the soldering alloy and the copper underneath.

Hot-air levelling or selective tinning is a finishing treatment which allows 1-10 micron of SACX 0307 alloy (tin-silver based alloy, without lead) to be laid on the areas involved (not protected by solder resist).

Now ICS may also deliver PCBs with Immersion Tin or Enig (Electroless Nichel-Gold) treatment, that are RoHS compliant.

Finally, in connector gold-plating, 4-10 microns of nickel are laid electrolytically as well as the required layer of gold (generally 0.7-1.5 microns). The function of this finish is to allow the assembled board to be fitted onto or to be removed from its base.  

From November 2006 a new microetch line (the treatment executed on the PCB before applying both the solder resist and the finishing) has been deployed in I.C.S., solving the problems of resist adhesion on the PCB during soldering, whatever is the finishing.