New Technology for the Environment: Environmentally-Conscious, Economically-Feasible Electronics Manufacturing

这一环境新技术项目将评估通过新工艺将无铅焊料与现有制造设备一起使用的可行性。使用这一工艺可能还有一个额外的好处，即焊剂，潜在的危险有机材料，也可以从焊膏中消除。焊点将通过一种被称为烧结的固态过程来制备，在这种过程中，粉末被连接在一起，而不会熔化粉末。烧结被广泛用于制造陶瓷和高温金属。在这里提出的工艺中，被认为是铅锡焊料替代品的焊料将被加热到略低于其熔点并允许烧结。如果在传统加工中使用这些替代品，电子材料将暴露在比使用铅锡高50摄氏度的温度下。通过烧结，温度实际上会降低。该技术还可用于形成机械完整性的冷焊接点。这意味着可以考虑更广泛的材料。在这个项目中，VCU的学生将制备新型的低熔剂焊膏，通过烧结形成焊点，并测试其机械完整性。这些焊点的机械完整性将与铅锡焊料制备的焊点进行比较。

This New Technologies for the Environment project will assess the feasibility of using lead-free solder with existing manufacturing equipment, through novel processing. Using this process may have the added benefit that fluxes, potentially hazardous organic materials, may be eliminated from the solder paste as well. Solder joints will be prepared by a solid state process, known as sintering where by powders are joined without melting the powder. Sintering is widely used to manufacture ceramics and high temperature metals. In the process proposed here, solders considered as alternatives to lead-tin solder will be heated to slightly below their melting point and allowed to sinter. Were these alternatives used in conventional processing, electronic materials would be exposed to temperatures 50C higher than if lead-tin were used. By sintering, the temperature will actually be reduced. This technique can also be used to form cold solder joints with mechanical integrity. This means that a wider range of materials can be considered.In this project students at VCU will prepare novel low flux solder pastes, form joints through sintering, and test their mechanical integrity. The mechanical integrity of these joints will be compared to those prepared by lead-tin solder.