an Alent plc Company

Halogen Free

Positioning in

Market Place

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Why Halogen Free?

• Electronics industry takes action to minimize or

eliminate certain halogen containing materials,

including Halogen Flame Retardants

• There are 2 common types of halogen flame

retardants in ROHS list of restricted materials

– Polychlorinated Biphenyls

– Polybrominated Biphenyls

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Why Halogen Free?

• Many electronics are burned at the end of their

life

– During this process these halogen bearing materials

release toxic by-products (dioxins)

– Dioxins increase the risk of cancer

• Several BFRs

– Have known toxic properties

– Are highly resistant to degradation in the environment

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Who is pushing for Halogen-Free?

• RoHS/JIG guidelines recommending controls on certain halogenated compounds including BFR’s – This is the only government regulated initiative with

the goal of reducing the use of halogens

• The current halogen-free initiative in electronics assembly is driven by 2 main groups – Non Government Organizations (NGOs)

– OEMs

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Who is pushing for Halogen-Free?

• NGOs like

– Continue to push OEMs to become more

environmentally friendly

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Group (Column) VIIA = Halogens

What are Halogens?

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Halogen vs. Halide

When a halogen takes in one electron, it becomes

a halide, for example

Br + e Br –

Bromine electron Bromide

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Halogens and Halides are NOT the

same • Halogens

– covalent and have a neutral charge

– primary source for Halogens in Assemblies is BFR’s in Laminates

– present a potential toxicity problem when burned

– when used in solder paste and wave solder flux can enhance activity without reducing reliability

• Halides

– ionic and have a charge

– added to certain wave solder fluxes and solder pastes to improve activity only

– like to absorb water which can cause printing and reliability problems

– because they carry a charge, if left uncontained, can result in electrical reliability problems on finished assemblies

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Definition of Halogen-Free

• Only the JEITA, IEC and JEDEC Standards / Guidelines affect Alpha products

• JEITA differs from IEC and JEDEC as it measures halogens, from any source, in solid portion of soldering materials and included Fluorine

• IEC and JEDEC are similar except for Br / Cl levels

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Halogen Content Test

or

Combustion Process Volumetric

Flask

Filtration Centrifuge

Ion Chromatograph

• Halogens have a neutral charge and

cannot be detected by standard Ion

Chromatograph

• Must first be converted to ionic Halides

− using combustion process

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Halogen Free Certification &

Testing • Declarations based on our knowledge of the

formula

• EN 14582 (Oxygen Bomb Test) – For Paste, Liquid Flux and Solder Wire

– Provided it can be done

• New method – Extract solids using IPC Test Method 2.3.34 from

products

– Submit the extracted solids for EN14582

– Results can be used for determining all Halogen Free (HF) classes

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AMG Current Halogen Free

Products • Paste / Paste Flux

• Multiple options

• Halogens have little impact on

thermal stability and activity.

• Liquid Fluxes

• Few options

• Halogens provide thermal

stability and activity. Difficult to

replace.

• Cored Wire

• Few options

• New products under

development

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Conclusion • Current Halogen-free initiative being driven by

NGOs and OEMs – The only halogens that are legislated to be removed

are polybrominated and polychlorinated biphenyls - RoHS

– Important to know what level of Halogen-free is required by your OEM

• Halogen-free and Zero Halogen pastes and fluxes have existed for many years – Soldering performance can be equal to halogen

containing materials

– Selection of the appropriate product is driven by your process and reliability requirements

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Glossary of New Terms

• ROHS - Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive

• Periodic Table – List of all elements discovered on earth

• Zero Halogen – No halogen intentionally added to the formulation

• Low Halogen - <1000ppm Br and <1000 ppm Cl in the final product (i.e. flux residue)

• Halogen-free – often used to mean the same thing as Low Halogen

• NGO – Non Government Organization

• OEM – Original Equipment Manufacturer

• Ion Chromatograph – An instrument used to measure ions, such as halides for

example, at ppm level

• ppm – parts per million

• Covalently bonded halogens – a non-ionic structure of a halogen chemical

• Oxygen Bomb Combustion or combustion process – A burning process to convert

halogen into halides

• Centrifuge – a high speed mixing process to separate solid and liquid in a mixture

• Filtration – a process to filter or separate the solid and liquid in a mixture

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For more information on ALPHA

products go to:

www.Alpha.Alent.com