IEEE/CPMT Seminar:

"Lead-Free - Fantasy or Fact?"
full-day seminar, moderated by Dr. Guna Selvaduray, SJSU Materials Science Department. Cosponsored by MEPTEC.

Can we get the lead out of electronics with a minimum of problems, delays and costs to the consumer? And if we can, what will it do to materials presently being used in manufacture of packages and PCB's? How will Pb-free solder temperatures and profiles affect reliability, quality, manufacturing capacity and last but not least, cost? Who will pay for the thousands of re-qualifications and long term reliability testing required to initiate this change? When will all of this testing be done? What are Japanese semiconductor and material vendors doing to meet this demand?

To some, it appears that lead-free may simply be a "marketing" tool to capture business in a country already sensitized by a history of "nuclear and chemical disasters". So what if anything is the semiconductor industry doing about it and when will we start supplying lead-free components?

The cost of this session will be $95.00 for MEPTEC or IEEE members, and $115.00 for non-members, and will include coffee and break refreshments, lunch, session materials and a CD containing the electronic presentations. Please register online.

Professor Guna Selvaduray, in the Materials Engineering Department at San Jose State University, is the moderator of a distinguished panel of industry leaders on one of the most misunderstood and least-accepted demands on our industry to date - "Lead-Free Electronics".

Program:

Overview of Issues Related to Lead-Free Solder Implementation
Guna Selvaduray, PhD, San Jose State University

The adoption of lead-free solders is not just a metallurgical issue. All processes and materials used in microelectronic assembly can expect to be affected. In this overview the issues related to implementation will be divided into different categories, i.e., those relating to design, production and reliability. The availability of engineering information in each of these categories will also be explored.

Lead-Free Conversion -- Industry Readiness Challenges and Status
Vivek Gupta, Lead-Halogen Free Program Manager, Intel, Phoenix, AZ

Sn-Pb solders are used universally in electronic components. The electronic industry has established manufacturing processes and industry standards for Sn-Pb over several decades. How-ever, as the processes shift to lead-free solders, the industry must re-define the manufacturing processes, supply chains and industry standards. This presentation discusses the issues at hand, current activities in progress as well as work that needs to be done to complete this lead-free conversion.

Wetting Characteristics of Lead-Free Solder for SMT Applications
Mulugeta Abtew, SCI Systems

Board level soldering and issues related to lead- free solders, from a second level assembly perspective. Experimental investigation was conducted to evaluate the wetting characteristics of three lead-free solders, Sn-3.5Ag, Sn-58Bi and Sn-9Zn, on copper substrate. Results will be shown and discussed.

Practical Concerns in Lead-Free SMT and Wave Soldering
Arden Jones, Tech Support Application Engineer, Multicore Solders, Inc.

This presentation will discuss the commercial and technical considerations of lead-free soldering. It will explain the steps required to transition wave soldering, SMT and rework processes to lead-free solders. Lead-free soldering is achievable now, but not without proper considerations and understanding of all the variables necessary to maintain the same reliability levels achieved with traditional tin-lead alloys.

Lead-Free BGAs - Challenges and Solutions
Swaminath Prasad, Senior Engineer, ChipPAC, Inc.

Packages will have to withstand higher reflow temperatures as dictated by the melting points of the most promising lead-free alloys. This exposure to higher temperatures and different oven profiles causes concerns about the reliability and performance of the packages. In an effort to develop a reliable BGA package, a comprehensive program was put together to evaluate and prove the design under actual conditions. This presentation will outline the major factors and ongoing efforts and results of testing the reliability of packages undergoing high temperature reflow.

Lead-Free Packaging - Industry Status and Strategy
Raj Master, Senior Fellow, AMD

Lead-free solders are a key discussion point for both users and suppliers. Yet it is not clear what, if any, legislative activity has or is being taken by Japan. And with no written guidelines available to the industry, specifying exactly what is required, by whom and when, users and suppliers are not necessarily working towards a common solution. The only clear solution will come from a joint effort of users, material and packaging suppliers and their subcontractors to define material, process and infrastructure solutions. This presentation will describe the approach and strategy being developed at AMD.

Lead-Free Issues in Package Assembly
Ajay Ghai, Director of IC Assembly and Packaging Engineering, Maxim

Changeover to lead-free lead finish poses several challenges to semiconductor component suppliers and package assembly subcontractors from a materials, process, and logistics standpoint. These differences are not totally unlike the problems being addressed by the PC board and placement industry but have some unique problems that must be addressed. This presentation will bring some of those issues to the table and discuss the impacts on semiconductor packages.

Are We Looking in the Wrong Direction?
Bance Hom, Consultech

A historical review of reasons and circumstances leading to Mil Spec 38510 revision requiring lead for reflow of tin plated devices. Is it possible to turn back the clock and go back to a very straight forward lead finish like matte tin that has years of reliability, history, and is very economical to implement? Matte tin plating and processing is approximately 1/10 the cost of existing tin lead plating without the environmental jeopardy.

Considerations for High Temperature Soldering on Polymeric Materials
Steve Wilson, Senior Technical Specialist, Dow Corning

Trends point to higher reflow temperatures, less molding compound per chip, tighter pitches, higher frequencies and more thermal dissipation issues. With the changes comes an even more urgent need to evaluate packaging materials and uses early in the development cycle to ensure reliable packages. What are the best materials to use and what effect will higher temps have on moisture in the package? Can the packages handle the thermally induced stresses and will new solders be compatible with conformal coatings and under fill materials?

Other presenters (abstracts not available at time of publication):

Toshifumi Motoyoshi, Toppan Electronics, Inc. USA

Register on-line at the MEPTEC website.

Sponsors

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