Progress in Developing Industry Standard Test Requirements for Pb-Free Solder Alloys

Abstract Recently, the industry has seen the development of a wide range of new Pb-free alloys. A significant element of uncertainty within the industry regarding these new alloys is the lack of defined data requirements for alloy acceptance. This paper describes the progress of recent efforts to standardize Pb-free solder alloy testing requirements. Hewlett-Packard, the iNEMI consortium, the Solder Products Value Council, and the IPC are working together to create such standards. To facilitate the standardization of alloy testing, the required tests are divided into three major areas, each of which may be covered by a separate standard. • Material properties • Solder joint reliability • Impact to manufacturing processes This paper presents the status of standardization efforts in each of these three areas