Lead-free solders and processing issues in microelectronics

Abstract

Recent legislation in the European Union (EU) is expected to result in a full transition to lead-free soldering technology in the near future. Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and Restriction of the use of certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (RoHS) directives became European law on February 13, 2003, and the member states now have 18 months from this date to implement them. The WEEE directive seeks to increase recycling and recovery of waste equipment, while RoHS bans lead, mercury, cadmium, chromium (VI), polybrominated biphenyls, and polybrominated diphenyl ethers by January 7, 2006. Although there are a few exemptions, the bulk of electronic products are affected by the lead ban in RoHS. Accordingly, R&D activities will have to be intensifi ed to meet the deadline set by the EU directives and the pressure from environmentally conscious consumers. To address questions on lead-free solders and soldering technologies, TMS has been active over the last several years in organizing a series of symposia on lead-free and lead-bearing solders at its annual and fall meetings and publishing their results. At the 2003 TMS Annual Meeting in San Diego, California, a technical symposium on “Pb-Free Solders and Processing Issues Relevant to Microelectronic Packaging” (organized by J. Lucas, S. Chada, S. Kang, C. Kao, K. Lin, J. Ready, and J. Yu), sponsored by the Electronic Packaging and Interconnection Materials Committee of EMPMD, was another successful forum for presenting and discussing recent fi ndLead-Free Solders and Processing Issues in Microelectronics