<< BACK

The Board Authority

Impact for Green Technologies
(06/2005)

Fifteen original articles help you build better boards despite new environmental legislation.

Introduction by Steve Gold

Cost: Entire Issue: $99***
Entire issue in a PDF file: $75***
Individual PDF papers = $9/ea

CLICK HERE to jump to Table of Contents

Welcome to this year’s edition of The Board Authority. As the entire electronics supply chain races toward RoHS implementation on July 1, 2006, most businesses are focusing on what their operations must do to be compliant.

Some industry observers (including myself) might argue that the push for environmentally friendly electronics is a clever marketing ploy embraced by bureaucrats – not engineers. This contention is well founded. Scientists certainly are not the force behind legislation like RoHS or the WEEE Directive. The alternatives to tin-lead solder have not been proven any more environmentally friendly than the supposed evil they replace. And current electronics waste legislation still does not address the need to recycle old electronics rather than dumping it into a landfill.

Common sense side, one still must recognize that there is no swimming against this tide. Ignoring environmental legislation is akin to placing a Going Out of Business sign on your lobby entrance. And most businesses are now forging ahead with RoHS compliance plans. However, those who are only pushing for compliance are missing an important opportunity.

In assembling these papers, the main question our editorial board asked was, “How can this paper help an engineer manufacture better printed circuit boards?” That’s viewing RoHS compliance from a different perspective, one where environmental legislation spurs improved manufacturing processes, higher yields, and – most importantly – better profit margins.

All of us at CircuiTree hope you not only use these articles to help you in your compliance efforts, but that they help you open new door to better manufacturing practices.

STEVE GOLD
Publisher, CircuTree magazine

Impact for Green Technologies
Table of Contents

Section	Article
1	Characterization, Functional Performance, Failure Mode Resolution and Market Trends of PCB Surface Finishes Don Cullen — a view of surface finishing from 40,000 feet, where each finish will be compared one function at a time. Cost, surface contact, lead-free solder wetting, and handling considerations are examined.
2	Surface Finishing For Lead-Free George Milad — there is no one surface finish that fits all applications. Rather, designers must familiarize themselves with every alternative when addressing lead-free assembly conditions.
3	Implementing Green PCB Production Processes Sven Lamprecht — A discussion of the impact of green technologies on various production processes, ranging from inner-layer procession to surface finishing.
4	Impact of Green Technologies on Long-Term Reliability of Vias Robert Tarzwell — To better understand thermal reliability of lead-free PCB assemblies, a new theory proposes that higher temperature thermal cycling affects the reliability of PCB technology when assembling lead-free electronics.
5	Selecting Base Materials for Lead-Free Assembly Ed Kelley — A summary of ciritcal base material properties required for lead-free assembly and the influence the main components have on these properties.
6	Lead Free Solder: The Newest Surface Finish Jack Fellman — Lead-Free Solder (LFS) from the Hot Air Solder Leveling (HASL) process may be the newest surface finish to enter the alternative surface finish market, but the option it presents was worth the wait.
7	Multilayer Layer Reduction: Adapting To Lead-Free Assembly Happy Holden — A review of four new and enabling technologies: Laser-drilled microvias; Layer assignment changes (architectures); Routing BGA using channels; contribution of new SMT connectors.
8	Failure Analysis Through Careful Microsectioning Frank Bai — When a failure occurs in an electronic device, customers sometimes blame the PCB fabricator, assuming poor product quality. But by using the process of microsectioning, a PCB fabricator can clearly determine what—and whom—is at fault.
9	Next-Generation Organic Solderability Preservatives (OSP) for Lead-free soldering and Mixed Metal Finish PWBs and BGA Substrates Michael Carano, KOJI SAEKI — This article explores the development and implementation of the next generation OSP for lead-free soldering.
10	Development of a Sustainable PCB Manufacturing Process Martin Goosey, Narinder Bains, Kate Geraghty — Moving towards a sustainable and zero-discharge alternative.
11	A Low-Loss, Electrically Stable, Green Laminate for Improved Signal Integrity Tom McCarthy — An improved green PTFE-fiberglass/bromine-free epoxy composite has been developed
12	New Environmentally Friendly Materials and Processes: Adhesiveless Flex Circuit Materials Diana Williams — A discussion of the advantages of selecting an adhesiveless flexible circuit material.
13	Evaluating Laminates for High Temperature Assembly Silvio Bartling — A procedure can now determine how well a particular laminate performs when exposed to 6x reflow, thermal cycling, and a combination of the two.
14	Thin Tin Over Nickel: One Strategy for Whisker Minimization Chen XU, Yun Zhang, Chonglun Fan, Joseph A. Abys — How to avoid compressive stress: the thermodynamic driving force for tin whisker formation.
15	Understanding and Accelerating the UL Qualification Process for Lead Free Materials Crystal Vanderpan — There are many challenges on the road to being environmentally friendly. Don’t let UL certification be one of them.