SURFACE FINISHES COMPARED
ENIG or EPIG: which PCB surface finish?
ENIG is the cheaper of the two, at $0.10–0.20 per square inch against $0.12–0.22 for EPIG.
- Known risk with ENIG: Black pad.
- Known risk with EPIG: Wire bond (EPIG).
ENIG and EPIG, as published
| Property | ENIG | EPIG |
|---|---|---|
| Cost, USD per square inch | 0.10–0.20 | 0.12–0.22 |
| Shelf life | 12+ mo | 12+ mo |
| Reflow passes | 5+ | 5+ |
| Minimum pitch, mm | 0.4 | 0.3 |
| RF performance | Poor (Ni loss) | Excellent |
| Gold wire bonding | No | EPAG only |
| Aluminium wire bonding | Yes | Limited |
| Standard | IPC-4552B | Under dev. |
| Known risk | Black pad | Wire bond (EPIG) |
How this was counted
Both columns come from the surface finish table in the MPBxChange material catalogue, as its sources published them. Costs are indicative ranges in US dollars per square inch, not quotations, and move with the gold price and the fabricator. "Not published" means the source gave no value, not that the answer is no.