This unique book provides an up-to-date overview of the concepts behind lead-free soldering techniques. Readers will find a description of the physical and mechanical properties of lead-free solders, in addition to lead-free electronics and solder alloys. Additional topics covered include the reliability of lead-free soldering, tin whiskering and electromigration, in addition to emerging technologies and research.

This book highlights recent research progress in lead (Pb)-free solder technology, focusing on materials development, processing, and performances. It discusses various Pb-free solder materials’ development, encompassing composite solders, transient liquid phase sintering, and alloying. The book also details various Pb-free solder technology processing and performances, including flux modification for soldering, laser soldering, wave soldering, and reflow soldering, while also examining multiple technologies pertaining to the rigid and flexible printed circuit board (PCB). Some chapters explain the materials characterization and modeling techniques using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). This book serves as a valuable reference for researchers, industries, and stakeholders in advanced microelectronic packaging, emerging interconnection technology, and those working on Pb-free solder.

This book focuses on the assembly and reliability of lead-free solder joints. Both the principles and engineering practice are addressed, with more weight placed on the latter. This is achieved by providing in-depth studies on a number of major topics such as solder joints in conventional and advanced packaging components, commonly used lead-free materials, soldering processes, advanced specialty flux designs, characterization of lead-free solder joints, reliability testing and data analyses, design for reliability, and failure analyses for lead-free solder joints. Uniquely, the content not only addresses electronic manufacturing services (EMS) on the second-level interconnects, but also packaging assembly on the first-level interconnects and the semiconductor back-end on the 3D IC integration interconnects. Thus, the book offers an indispensable resource for the complete food chain of electronics products.

Covering the major topics in lead-free soldering Lead-free Soldering Process Development and Reliability provides a comprehensive discussion of all modern topics in lead-free soldering. Perfect for process, quality, failure analysis and reliability engineers in production industries, this reference will help practitioners address issues in research, development and production. Among other topics, the book addresses: · Developments in process engineering (SMT, Wave, Rework, Paste Technology) · Low temperature, high temperature and high reliability alloys · Intermetallic compounds · PCB surface finishes and laminates · Underfills, encapsulants and conformal coatings · Reliability assessments In a regulatory environment that includes the adoption of mandatory lead-free requirements in a variety of countries, the book’s explanations of high-temperature, low-temperature, and high-reliability lead-free alloys in terms of process and reliability implications are invaluable to working engineers. Lead-free Soldering takes a forward-looking approach, with an eye towards developments likely to impact the industry in the coming years. These will include the introduction of lead-free requirements in high-reliability electronics products in the medical, automotive, and defense industries. The book provides practitioners in these and other segments of the industry with guidelines and information to help comply with these requirements.

This book presents the scientific principles, processing conditions, probable failure mechanisms, and a description of reliability performance and equipment required for implementing high-temperature and lead-free die attach materials. In particular, it addresses the use of solder alloys, silver and copper sintering, and transient liquid-phase sintering. While different solder alloys have been used widely in the microelectronics industry, the implementation of sintering silver and transient liquid-phase sintering remains limited to a handful of companies. Hence, the book devotes many chapters to sintering technologies, while simultaneously providing only a cursory coverage of the more widespread techniques employing solder alloys. Addresses the differences between sintering and soldering (the current die-attach technologies), thereby comprehensively addressing principles, methods, and performance of these high-temperature die-attach materials; Emphasizes the industrial perspective, with chapters written by engineers who have hands-on experience using these technologies; Baker Hughes, Bosch and ON Semiconductor, are represented as well as materials suppliers such as Indium; Simultaneously provides the detailed science underlying these technologies by leading academic researchers in the field.

This reference provides a complete discussion of the conversion from standard lead-tin to lead-free solder microelectronic assemblies for low-end and high-end applications. Written by more than 45 world-class researchers and practitioners, the book discusses general reliability issues concerning microelectronic assemblies, as well as factors specific to the tin-rich replacement alloys commonly utilized in lead-free solders. It provides real-world manufacturing accounts of the introduction of reduced-lead and lead-free technology and discusses the functionality and cost effectiveness of alternative solder alloys and non-solder alternatives replacing lead-tin solders in microelectronics.