Electronics (EMS)/electrical engineering

It’s better to be lead-free

This development pervades throughout the entire field of microelectronics: For practically every application, legal guidelines and provisions are becoming more stringent in order to systematically push back on the use of substances that are harmful to the environment and human health. This has led to completely new requirement profiles, such as those for lead-free soft solders with a melting range of below 200°C wherever possible: This reduction also reduces the short-term temperature load on the electronic components during production. At the same time, important parameters relating to the consumable materials such as seep and wetting should also remain as unchanged as possible compared with conventional solders. The leaching properties of lead-free soft solders on boards, electronic components and tools as well as the soldering systems themselves remain another important aspect. In summary:  In order to ensure the long-lasting, reliable operation of the end product, the soft-solder characteristics need to be realigned, with more recent developments such as laser soldering or 3D printing also playing an increasingly important role. All alloys must also originate entirely from conflict-free extraction regions or regions of origin in accordance with the current valid Conflict Mineral Report Template (CMRT).