IPC is CALLING FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION AT THE......



International Conference on Tin Whiskers: The Unexplained Phenomenon

Technical Conference and Tabletop Exhibits: November 5-6, 2003

Holiday Inn Research Park ● Huntsville, AL



What is Tin Whiskers you say? Tin whiskers are single crystal structure of tin that grows unexpectedly from the surface of pure tin, especially electroplated tin. Tin whiskers are thought to be a “mechanical phenomenon” but this is no new phenomenon. The first published report of tin whiskers dates back to the 1940’s. 



Component manufacturers are being driven to eliminate lead from electronics and consider pure tin coatings as an economical lead free plating option. It has been rumored that electronic component manufacturers have announced plans to increase the use of pure-tin coatings on leads and other external and internal surfaces.



Years of study have been conducted regarding the mechanisms in which tin whiskers grow and still not a single acceptable explanation for this phenomenon exists. If the industry is going to demand the use of pure tin coats, it’s time to investigate the phenomenon of tin whiskers.



Potential topics for presentations at the Tin Whiskers conference are:



• Whisker Failures

• Reliability issues

• Intermetallic Formation

• Compressive Stresses 

• Risk/Failure Mechanisms

• Debris/Contamination

• Environmental Factors

• Case Studies

• Plating Options/Solutions

• Accelerating Test Conditions

• Whisker Metallization



The International Conference on Tin Whiskers offers time slots between 30-45 minutes long. To submit an abstract, please include an abstract of 200-300 words describing the presentation you wish to have considered, along with a brief biography and e-mail to [log in to unmask]