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IPC and its Solder Products Value Council (SPVC) have announced the release of a white paper report that summarizes a round robin test program on the assembly properties of three lead free solder alloys. The white paper report (IPC-SPVC-WP-006) is titled “Round Robin Testing and Analysis, Lead Free Alloys—Tin, Silver and Cooper.” In its ongoing efforts to achieve a worldwide consensus on a standard alloy for the electronics industry, IPC’s SPVC Lead Free Technical Committee completed analysis of round robin testing of three tin-silver-copper alloys, in the following percentages respectively: 96.5/ 3.0/ 0.5; 95.5/ 3.8/ 0.7; and 95.5/ 4.0/ 0.5. Tests performed by IPC SPVC members included melt characterization, wetting balance responses, and solder spread.These tests determine assembly process parameters for the alloys and demonstrate the ability of the alloys to form intermetallic bonds (connections) between the substrate and the components of the assembly. “These tests were designed to determine if there are any significant differences in performance between the three lead free alloys,” said Dr. Greg Munie, Kester Solder and editor of the white paper. “Based on the statistical analysis of the data gathered from the tests, the difference between alloys is not statistically significant.” The Council previously announced that the next phase of their lead free test program will be long-term interconnection reliability testing, including thermal shock and thermal cycling of the three lead free alloys. The 19-page white paper includes examples of statistical analysis, data analysis of the tests, data tables of testing participants and a reproduction of IPC test methods used. A free copy of the report is available at http://leadfree.ipc.org /LeadFreeWP006.asp or a hard copy report is available through IPC’s Online Store www.ipc.org/onlinestore.Source: PCBnewsline