Roll Back the Lead-Free Initiative: RoHS
Signal integrity consultant Howard Johnson interviews Joe Fjelstad, a veteran manufacturing technology researcher, about the implications of the Restrictions on Hazardous Substances (RoHS) ban of tin-lead solder. Fjelstad argues that the move to lead-free solders will worsen the environment because of more complex recycling and disposing of the alloys that replace tin-lead solder. Also, the lead-free solders are more brittle and prone to break when a cell phone, for example, is dropped. They require higher manufacturing temperatures that can worsen the reliability of electronic systems.