The book is important because it reflects a trend, especially in microelectronics manufacture toward recyclability. Europe and Asia are moving towards legislation to ban the use of lead in solders and public demand in the US will likely have the same result. Producers of solders and manufacturers who use them will have to invent and employ suitable substitutes and A Guide to Lead-free Solders will show them how to do so.

Lead-free solders are used extensively as interconnection materials in electronic assemblies and play a critical role in the global semiconductor packaging and electronics manufacturing industry. Electronic products such as smart phones, notebooks and high performance computers rely on lead-free solder joints to connect IC chip components to printed circuit boards. Lead Free Solder: Mechanics and Reliability provides in-depth design knowledge on lead-free solder elastic-plastic-creep and strain-rate dependent deformation behavior and its application in failure assessment of solder joint reliability. It includes coverage of advanced mechanics of materials theory and experiments, mechanical properties of solder and solder joint specimens, constitutive models for solder deformation behavior; numerical modeling and simulation of solder joint failure subject to thermal cycling, mechanical bending fatigue, vibration fatigue and board-level drop impact tests.

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.

Even though the effect of lead contamination on human health has been known for decades, very little attention has been paid to lead-based solders used in electronics until recently. This comprehensive book examines all the important issues associated with lead-free electronic solder. It collects the work of researchers recognized for their significant scientific contributions in the area.

This book provides some of the most advanced research observations and in-depth knowledge behind lead-free soldering. Readers will find a description of different cutting-edge techniques used for improving the reliability of interconnects manufacturing. Some of the most unconventional topics covered in this book include solder joint formation for microelectronic devices at room temperature and the possibility of soldering ceramic materials, which is limited due to the poor wettability of ceramic substrates with commercial solders following classical soldering techniques. We also discuss the possibilities of nanoscale preparation of solder joints for bringing down the processing temperature so that it does not affect the packaging technologies. Readers will find that precise, systematic discussion of solder joint formation and its interfacial characterization has been depicted for each technique used in different chapters. This book is of interest to both fundamental researchers and also to practicing scientists and will prove invaluable to all those working in industry and academia.

The worldwide trend toward lead-free components and soldering is especially urgent in the European Union with the implementation strict new standards in July 2006, and with pending implementation of laws in China and California. This book provides a standard reference guide for engineers who must meet the new regulations, including a broad collection of techniques for lead-free soldering design and manufacture, which up to now have been scattered in difficult-to-find scholarly sources.