IPC and JEDEC are seeking your participation for the Lead Free North America Conference, which is scheduled to take place December 1-3 in Boston, MA. This conference will address the ban of lead that is quickly approaching in Europe and its impact on the U.S. One related issue will be the use of pure tin coatings as an economical lead free plating.  The potential effects of tin whiskers will also be explored.

The lack of industry understanding about tin whiskers and a lack of testing methodology to identify whisker-prone products have made pure tin interconnection and plating risky in high reliability systems. "What are Tin Whiskers?" you say. Tin whiskers are single crystal structures of tin that grow unexpectedly from the surface of pure tin, particularly electroplated tin. Tin whiskers are thought to be a "mechanical phenomenon" but it is no new phenomenon. 

The ways in which tin whiskers grow have been studied for years 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. 

People have participated in JEDEC and IPC conferences all across the world in 2004, and the upcoming December event will include a synopsis of global happenings to be held here in the U.S.

To review the topics in which papers/presentation are being sought or to submit an abstract, please go to www.ipc.org/leadfreeNA. We are also soliciting proposals from individuals interested in teaching full-day tutorials (six hours) or half-day workshops (three hours) to a class of up to 30 persons on such topics as: reliability, process issues, rework, plating and surface finishes, design for lead free, design for recycling etc. Additional suggestions are also welcome.

An honorarium is offered to tutorial and workshop instructors. A brief description and additional information should be included using the submission form.

For registration information regarding the IPC/JEDEC Lead Free North America Conference when it becomes available, please contact [log in to unmask]

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