PCB Micro-cross Section

Micro-cross sectioning is one of the important quality analyses of PCBs. In general, after the completion of a PCB, micro-cross sectioning is performed for sampling. Micro-cross sectioning is also implemented after an anomaly occurs to analyze the problem with an electronic microscope to locate the root cause.

The two most common ways of section are as follows：

1. Vertical section：A PCB is cut vertically to check the vertical section.
   Procedures of vertical section: Sampling → Sealing → Grinding → Polishing → Micro-etching → Snapshot
2. Horizontal Section：A PCB is placed flat and grinded from the outer layer to each inner layer. Generally speaking, horizontal section is used to find the anomaly location when open/short occurs.

Analysis of Section Result：
After section, the specimen is examined with an electronic microscope to judge the anomaly in order to find the root cause and thereby improve the quality.