Saving ressources Retinning: How the TÜV Nord Group revives defective semiconductors

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As semiconductor resources dwindle and chip demand rises, ALTER | HTV, part of TÜV Nord Group, offers a pioneering retinning process—NovaTIN—to restore and optimise semiconductor chips. This innovative solution addresses supply challenges while enhancing sustainability and security in critical sectors.

Resources for semiconductor production are becoming increasingly scarce, but the demand for chips is growing steadily. Retinning can be the solution for restoring defective semiconductor chips to working order. Through its subsidiary ALTER | HTV, the TÜV Nord Group offers the innovative NovaTIN process for restoring and optimising semiconductor chips. With its pioneering retinning process, ALTER | HTV provides solutions for industry, aerospace and the defence sector that are becoming increasingly important in times of supply bottlenecks and rising demands for sustainability and security.

Without chips, everything comes to a halt

The world is dependent on electronic devices and systems, and semiconductor chips are indispensable. Without them, production lines come to a standstill and communication and data transfers fail. ALTER | HTV, a subsidiary of the TÜV Nord Group, specialises in the restoration of damaged chips and offers a cost-effective and sustainable solution with its retinning process.

In retinning, experts renew or replace the tin layer on electronic components. This is necessary when connection pins are oxidised or corroded, often as a result of improper storage. Connection pins are small metallic pins on a semiconductor chip that provide the electrical connection to other components. "By renewing the surface coating, we can make the components usable again for the manufacturing process," says Gunter Mößinger, Head of Research and Development at ALTER | HTV. "In times of supply bottlenecks and rising costs for new semiconductor chips, retinning offers a crucial alternative. By re-tinning old, damaged components, we can keep production running and avoid high losses," emphasises Mößinger.

"No alternative to retinning"

The importance of retinning is growing, especially in the aerospace and defence sectors, where lead-containing components may continue to be used for safety reasons. ALTER | HTV offers a solution here by lead-plating lead-free components to meet the high safety requirements. "In the aerospace and defence sectors, there is no alternative to retinning, as lead-containing components are hardly available on the market anymore. Lead is very stable and therefore offers the highest level of safety in the face of strong and constant vibrations, which are commonplace in aircraft," says Mößinger.

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ALTER | HTV's process relies on a combination of different reconditioning processes to restore even severely damaged components. The revivec cleaning process, in which components are treated with ionised gas, and hot solder dipping, an automated process for re-tinning, are central components of this innovation. "Our processes are so precise that we can restore components that other suppliers consider irreparable," explains Mößinger.

The TÜV Nord Group and ALTER | HTV are working on far-reaching processes for optimising semiconductor chips.