Sep 14, 2011 
Jasbir Bath, Consulting Engineer for Christopher Associates Inc./Koki Solder, will present “A Review of Issues and Next Steps in Moving From Sn3Ag0.5Cu to Low-Silver Solder Alloys” at the upcoming IPC Midwest Conference & Exhibition, scheduled to take place September 21-22, 2011 at the Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel and Convention Center in Schaumburg, IL. The presentation will be held during Session S04, titled Lead-Free Solder Alloys and Thermal Cycling Performance, from 8-10 a.m. on Thursday, September 22, 2011.
The presentation will cover the transition from Sn37Pb to lead-free Sn3Ag0.5Cu over the last 10 years with recent activity and interest in transitioning to low silver (≤1.2wt%) lead-free solder alloys in BGA/CSP component spheres, wave solder, rework alloys and now solder paste. It will review the current situation and usage of low silver alloys as well as pricing pressures to use low silver alloys based on global solder usage and the high costs of silver metal used in lead-free solder. Alternative low silver lead-free solder alloys will be discussed in relation to their effect on board and component temperature, warpage and solderability standards.
The session, moderated by George Milad of Uyemura International Corp., will cover the implementation of the European Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) over the past decade, as well as the yielded results on the impact of lead-free alloys on solder joint integrity.
Jasbir Bath is a Consulting Engineer for Christopher Associates/Koki Solder in the Americas. He is the owner of Bath Technical Consultancy that provides consulting and training services in the electronics manufacturing industry. Mr. Bath also is an INEMI Consultant working on the INEMI lead-free rework optimization project. He was the Corporate Lead Engineer with Solectron Corporation and Flextronics International for 10 years with a role involving tin-lead and lead-free solder process development.
