Environmentally Friendly Solders

Dear Colleagues,

Electronic interconnects (so-called soldering technology) serve both electronic and mechanical functions between the electronic components (transistor, chips, integrated circuit, etc.) and the printed circuit boards (PCBs) in electronic devices. Thus, the importance of soldering in electronic packaging is increasing due to the rapid growth of the electronic industry in recent years. Traditionally, lead-containing alloys, e.g., Sn–Pb solders, are extensively used for interconnections in electronic components due to their unique combination of mechanical properties, superior wetting properties, moderate melting temperatures and low cost. However, environmental and health concerns over the toxicity of lead combined with strict legislation to ban the use of lead-based solders have provided an inevitable driving force for the development of lead-free solder alloys. Therefore, establishing a lead-free solder has become a critical issue. Global economic pressure brought on by such legislation has resulted in a flurry of research activities to find suitable lead-free substitutes for the traditional lead-containing electronic solders. Nowadays, several types of environmentally friendly solders have been introduced to replace the lead alloys. However, with the advancement of micro/nanosystems technology toward higher speed, smaller, thinner and portable features, an increasing quest for better performance and continual miniaturization as well as reliability, the electronic packaging industry is facing severe limitations. Therefore, there is a critical challenge to introduce a highly reliable solder alloy that will enhance the reliability and longevity of modern electronic devices.

With this goal in mind, the critical issues for green electronic soldering have been identified, and the research community renowned for their significant scientific contributions in this area are invited to write articles on these issues.

Dr. Asit Kumar Gain
Guest Editor

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