Dear Leadfree Members,
hoping you also find this press-release interesting. The full text can be
found on:
http://eNews.Semiconductors.com/news/content/file_728.html
A European strategy is emerging... Many questions remain unanswered
however...
Peter.
QUOTE:
Top three European semiconductor manufacturers announce initiative to
eliminate lead from semiconductor products
Infineon Technologies, Philips Semiconductors and STMicroelectronics propose
standard for defining and evaluating lead-free semiconductor devices
Munich, Germany, Eindhoven, Netherlands and Geneva, Switzerland, July 12,
2001 - In a move aimed at accelerating the use of 'lead-free' packages and
stimulating the further development of 'lead-free' technologies, Infineon
Technologies (NYSE/FSE: IFX), Philips Semiconductors (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI),
and STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM) - Europe's three largest semiconductor
manufacturers - today unveiled their proposal for the world's first standard
for defining and evaluating 'lead-free' semiconductor devices.
The initiative shows the three companies' commitment to work towards the
elimination of lead (Pb) in electronic systems to improve environmental
protection, e.g. in recycling or disposal processes of electronic devices.
Starting in February 2001, the three companies have developed the proposed
standard, which provides a common definition of 'lead-free' and assesses
factors such as solderability and reliability of alternative materials.
Lead in semiconductor products
Lead, along with tin, is a critical component of the solder traditionally
used for printed circuit board assembly. It is also widely used in
semiconductor packaging, for example, as a coating on the leads of packages,
in power IC packages as the die attach and for the balls of Ball Grid Array
(BGA) packages.
Lead is often found in nature in association with other metals, with the
result that removing all traces of lead from the metals that are used in
'lead-free' solders is not economically viable or might even be harmful to
the environment.
The demand for international standards
One of the major barriers against eliminating the use of lead in the
industry has been a lack of internationally agreed standards and
methodologies for evaluating the quality and reliability of 'lead-free'
technologies. In contrast, single lead-tin alloy has been used for many
decades and standard procedures are used worldwide to evaluate its quality
and long-term reliability.
"Many different kinds of 'lead-free' solder alloys and soldering processes
are being investigated or developed around the world, using multiple
combinations of elements like tin, silver, copper, bismuth, indium and zinc,
all of which require increased temperature profiles relative to the well
known tin-lead alloys during the soldering process," said Carlo Cognetti,
Vice President for New Package Development at STMicroelectronics. "To
accelerate the transition to 'lead-free' technology, the electronics
industry needs a common approach to quantifying solderability, heat
resistance and other issues that affect reliability."
"At present, there is not even an internationally agreed definition of the
maximum amount of lead that can be allowed in a 'lead-free' component or
process," said Dr. Wolfgang Bloch, Head of Environment Protection and Safety
Management at Infineon Technologies. "The market is confused because there
are no rules or standards so far for evaluating alternative technologies.
What we are doing is proposing some key ground rules that will help
accelerate progress. Our initiative shows the inevitable transition to
'green' assembly on a global scale."
"Europe has taken the lead in proposing the world's first legislation to
eliminate lead from electronic equipment and components," said Leo Klerks,
Environmental Officer at Philips Semiconductors. "Our three companies'
interest in using lead-free soldering technologies has partly been fuelled
by legislative restrictions from the European Commission. Effective from 1
January 2006, materials such as lead, mercury, cadmium and others will be
forbidden in electrical and electronic devices. By sharing our knowledge and
enthusiasm, Europe's leading semiconductor manufacturers can make huge steps
towards meeting this goal."
Implementation and availability of 'lead-free' components
The three companies will be able to introduce their 'lead-free' products far
in advance to the legislative deadlines. Fully qualified 'lead-free'
components will be available by the end of this year. The proposal of
Infineon, Philips and STMicroelectronics contains an upper limit for
'lead-free' components of 0.1 percent related to the individual material,
not to the whole package or component. The 'lead-free' products give at
least their European clients a certainty to be 'green' in time.
Following detailed discussions of their individual aims and approaches, the
three companies intend to continue their co-operation on standards and
evaluation while pursuing their individual research programs to find the
most economically and technologically effective ways to remove lead from the
electronics industry.
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mit freundlichen Gruessen,
Thanks and Best Regards, Peter Roth
RH-15275
* Robert Bosch GmbH, Dept: RtW1/TEF1, 72703 Reutlingen, Germany.
* Tel: +49-7121-35-1962 * Fax: +49-7121-35 371962 (and -/35 1498)
* mailto:[log in to unmask]
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