Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
Not since the phase-out of CFCs ten years ago has the electronics manufacturing industry
faced such a radical change in its assembly processes. But over the next few years lead-free soldering
For more than 50 years lead-containing solders have been used almost exclusively throughout
the electronics industry for attaching components to printed circuit boards (PCBs). Such solders are
inexpensive, perform reliably under a variety of operating conditions, and possess unique
characteristics (e.g. low melting point, high strength ductility and fatigue resistance, high thermal
cycling and joint integrity) that are well suited for electronics applications.
But such materials are now coming under close scrutiny following concerns over lead ending
up in landfill and contaminating land and water supplies, and concerns over lead contamination from
recycling operations. In Europe this has resulted in a move, embodied in proposed European
legislation, to ban the use of lead in solders. The drive to reduce the use of lead is not new of course.
Lead in domestic water pipes, plumbing solders, petrol, paint, fishing weights and gun shot etc, has
However, there is more to the lead-free initiative than impending legislation. Customers are
increasingly aware of environmental concerns and recognise the many health hazards that lead
presents, particularly for children. In industrialised countries end-users are showing preferences for
products which are perceived to be "green", and in other parts of the world companies have been quick
to turn this to their advantage. In Japan in particular, the prime driver is the proven commercial and
marketing advantage of lead-free products. To avoid a commercial disadvantage from the Japanese
activities, America, previously disinterested in lead-free soldering, has also been spurred into action.
The progress of the European legislation has been slow with conflicting approaches. In June 2000,
after five years of draft documents and consultation on the original WEEE (Waste from Electrical and
Electronic Equipment) proposal, and the emergence of another proposal for a Directive on EEE
(Electrical and Electronic Equipment), three pieces of EU legislation are now poised to affect the
industry.
1. WEEE - concerned primarily with aspects of end-of-life i.e. to minimise waste and maximise
recycling
2. ROHS - restrictions on the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic
3. EEE - concerned with minimising overall environmental impact by attention to aspect of design
It is the ROHS proposal that will have the greatest impact on the electronics manufacturing
industry. This proposal was adopted by the Commission on 13 June 2000 and is proceeding in tandem
with the WEEE proposal. It requires certain substances (including various heavy metals such as Pb,
Hg, Cd hexavalent Cr) to be phased out of new equipment by 2008. Although there are some
exemptions to this ban on the use of lead (in radiation protection, ceramics etc), lead in soldering is not
exempt. However, the situation is complicated by a separate proposed Directive applicable to the
automotive industry i.e. the end-of-life-vehicles (EOLV) Directive. Whilst containing the same
materials bans as ROHS, it does specifically exempt lead in solders for automotive electronics.
There are no such impending materials bans in other parts of the world, the emphasis of any
legislation being on recycling. In Japan public preferences for “green” goods and product
differentiation provide the incentive for going lead-free. Indeed, many Japanese companies are already
successfully using a green image to promote lead-free products. Many have strategies for eliminating
lead in timescales of a few years - well within that of the proposed EU Directive.
PCBs pervade every form of electronic equipment and are therefore vitally important for a
vast range of products. Any change in soldering technology, irrespective of the driver, would therefore
have major implications for the industry, not only in the UK and Europe, but world-wide, involving
many sectors, as listed in the WEEE document. Whilst not exclusive the list of ten categories does
cover the vast majority of electronics applications, and certainly all the high volume sectors of the
market.
It is probable therefore, that whatever the driver Pb-free soldering will become the norm in
the next few years, i.e. in timescales dictated by the commercial drivers from Japan, rather than by
a range of possible alternatives commercially available. The trick is to choose the right one for any
particular application. However, over the past year there has been an increasing consensus for using
one family of alloys, based on SnAgCu, at least for many surface mount applications. The large volume
telecommunications industry is one that has targetted this alloy. But the choice will still be “horses for
compatibility and/or cost may sway the choice towards other alloys. For example the lower melting
point SnAgBi type alloys may be used for surface mount consumer products, and Sn0.7Cu solders may
be developed for wave soldering situations where alloy cost is a particular concern. Other alloys with
potential are Sn3.5Ag and SnZn(Bi). Patent issues remain another important consideration. In most
cases licensing enables these problems to be avoided (e.g. with the AnAgCu (Castin) solder), but it is
possible to use other alloys, such as Sn4Ag0.5Cu, that appear to be patent-free. But the outlook is
bright. Performance data, especially those from the field, though sparse, suggest that the Pb-free
solders will provide adequate joints. The reliability of SnAgCu, in particular, appears to be equivalent
to that of SnPb.
The last two years has brought about a general acknowledgement that whilst lead-free
soldering is technologically possible, effective transition to the new technology requires key
implementation issues to be addressed within the industry. Recognising this the DTI is sponsoring a
major three-year collaborative programme between NPL and over twenty industrial partners, in order
One of the perceived concerns in embracing lead-free soldering is that the visual appearance
of joints is significantly different from that using conventional SnPb solder. Such changes are not
covered in existing visual guidelines. Moreover, “copper halos”, usually the cause of rejection in
conventional soldering, often occur using lead-free solders. Inspectors therefore have no sensible basis
on which to pass/reject lead-free joints. However, as part of a programme sponsored by DTI, NPL in
collaboration with industrial companies, is currently generating such guidelines with an indication of
The industry is also seeking greater use of automated optical inspection (AOI) and automated
X-ray inspection (AXI) and progress has been made in understanding their application to lead-free
product. Programming is the key. When appropriately programmed, all leading AOI instruments can
locate a range of defects, thus reducing the number of faults at electrical test. When using AXI for lead-
free soldering, attention must be paid to suitable algorithms, and the provision of a suitable voltage
source, to compensate for reduced image contrast due to the absence of lead.
The downside is that there are still some problem areas in implementing lead-free soldering.
Significant concern remains over lead-free replacements for high lead, high temperature (~300°C)
alloys. No viable possibilities have been identified and any solution is likely to take some time to
develop. But the prime issue concerns component availability. In general, component companies have
been fairly slow to react to the impending change to lead-free soldering, possibly due to the low level
There is also concern over compatibility with the higher soldering temperatures for a
components and connectors. Although lower peak process temperatures for lead-free soldering are
being addressed through flux and equipment developments and by nitrogen inerting, in many cases the
combination of soldering time and temperature for typical lead-free reflow profiles, significantly
exceeds that specified on component manufacturers’ datasheets. Moreover, the higher reflow
temperatures and faster ramps might result in increased board delamination. The published data suggest
that the incidence of recorded failures is small, which may simply reflect the current low level of Pb-
free soldering in the industry. However, the issue may be essentially one of re-qualification of the
A few companies have been supplying components with lead-free terminations for several
years in a variety of forms of Pd/Ni, but the combinations of lead-free solders and new terminations all
struggle to provide the solderability or wire bondability expected from conventional soldering. Similar
wetting performance is obtained only when the lead-free soldering temperature is in excess of 250OC
i.e. with a similar level of superheat. Each termination material has its own advantages in processing
and performance and a preferred system has yet to be established. Interestingly, in the past two years
renewed interest has been shown in developing plating systems for pure tin and tin-based compositions,
The position regarding board coatings is more encouraging. Many lead-free solderable
coatings are now available in many variations: Sn, Ag, Au/Ni. Pd/Ni and OSPs (organic solderable
preservatives). Trials on lead-free HASL (hot air solder levelled) boards have been carried out, and it
Repair or rework of lead-containing systems with lead-free solders, or vice versa, clearly
involves higher temperatures and there is worry over possible detrimental effects to the board or
components. Little relevant information is available though there is much work to confirm that iron tip
temperatures will be higher (>300OC) than with conventional soldering and that tip life will be
correspondingly shorter. However, problems can be minimised by careful control of the heat input.
Swifter action with the iron is required, and this implies careful operator re-training.
Another area in which significant progress has been made is that of general awareness within
the industry. In 1999 recognising the need to provide the UK industry with reliable information, the
DTI commissioned NPL and ITRI to prepare ‘An Analysis of Lead-free Soldering’. A year later an
update summarising changes was issued to help industry continue to make informed decisions about
the new technology. Although awareness may be higher, actions geared towards practical transition are
disappointingly still at a low level. Hence to provide direct help for practitioners of the technology,
NPL in conjunction with EPS, have generated an interactive lead-free soldering Cook Book CD-ROM.
Whatever the implementation and awareness issues, the inevitable conclusion is that the
transition to Pb-free soldering is underway and will accelerate over the next few years, driven by
commercial rather than legislative considerations. To keep abreast of these changes industry will have
to react more positively than it did to the elimination of CFCs a decade ago.
Further reading:
www.npl.co.uk/npl/ei or www.lead-free.org
2. Lead-free Soldering – Update 2000
B P Richards and K Nimmo. April 2000. Available from DTI, NPL or ITRI.
www.npl.co.uk/npl/ei or www.lead-free.org
AUTHOR
Dr Brian Richards. BSc MSc PhD. Consultant.
National Physical Laboratory, Teddington, Middlesex. TW11 0LW
Tel : 020 8943 7027
Fax : 020 8614 0428
e-mail : brian@richardsb25.fsnet.co.uk