Lead-Free Soldering: Environmentally Friendly Electronics

Abstract The substitution of lead in the electronics industry is one of the key issues in the current drive toward ecological manufacturing. This chapter is aimed at giving an overview of requirements, current situation, problems, and possible development of lead-free soldering and other environmentally friendly joining technologies. It starts with the overview of existing EU regulations and directives. The current situation in the lead-free soldering field is mapped here and a review of the literature, including a patent search, reveals systems and technologies that are at the focus of research effort. New approaches that employ the use of theoretical modeling in the development of new materials is briefly discussed in this chapter. The final part shows the difficulties that the industry faces when implementing new materials into production. The task of this part is to summarize the likely impacts of the phasing out of lead-containing solders for industry, especially small- and medium-sized enterprises.

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