SnPb leadframe plating can be used with certain Pb-free solder pastes, as shown in the following table: Melting point 138°C; Not recommended –relatively weak joint strength when subject to temperature cycling; compatible with 100% matte tin finishes; not compatible with existing SnPb finishes Melting point 183°C; common use for electronic applications; compatible with 100% matte tin finishes; shiny appearance Melting point 219°C; compatible with existing SnPb finishes and 100% .

Allegro has selected 100% matte tin leadframe plating, a technology which has been widely demonstrated to be backwardly-compatible with existing SnPb-based processes.

Reflow soldering: SnAgCu, SnAgCuBi, SnAg, SnAgBi, SnZnBi, SnIn (the bismuth-containing solders are more suitable for low temperature soldering) Wave Soldering: SnAgCu, SnCu, SnCu(Ni 0.1%), SnCuX, where X is the small fraction of elements claimed to increase performance A13. No suitable alternative has yet been identified for this solder which melts at around 302OC.

A31. Yes, but there is the potential for poor alignment and open joints. Since the usual SnPb reflow profile may not exceed the melting point of the BGAs’ lead-free solder balls, the SnPb solder paste melts but the SnAgCu solder balls do not. The lack of ball collapse may cause a lack of contact between the solder paste and the solder ball.

All Allegro testing requiring Pb-Free reflow uses the J-STD-020 industry standard profile (shown below). As long as the optimized Pb-free reflow profile being used falls inside this profile, Allegro testing results apply.

Pb actually has a limited presence in semiconductor devices. The only place where it has been commonly present in significant concentrations, as defined by RoHS, is in the SnPb alloy plating material that has traditionally been used to enhance leadframe solderability. By using 100% matte tin leadframe plating, Allegro eliminates even this contributor of Pb. Pb is also present in the high-temperature solders used to bond flip-chips.

The category used is "e3" for most standard Allegro devices. This is a reference to the industry standard JESD97 for second level interconnect (device-to-PCB) connection for tin-plated devices.

CML has qualified the following Pb-free composition: Sn 96%, Ag 3.5% and Cu0.5%. At this time, we have no specific plans to qualify any other solder types.

A 260?C solder reflow profile can be used for all Pb-free devices please see attached link: Solder Profile

Currently, SnPb surface plating is used on several external and internal components. The Pb-Free substitute will depend on the process of manufacturing those components, along with availability in the marketplace. Among the proposed choices currently under consideration are: Mini-Circuits may continue to offer the current SnPb (Tin/Lead) plated products for customers that require the Pb containing materials and are not ready to accept Pb-Free products at this time.

Click http://www.freescale.com/files/product/doc/ENV_MSLPPT.pdf to download the Freescale recommendation. Freescale targets a PPT of 260°C with an MSL of 3 or better, however, some products may not be able to meet this target. Freescale provides the PPT and MSL level for each part number via web access or by special request.

A11. No, you will have to change your process to some degree. The choice is not necessarily straightforward, and will depend on the application, thermal and temperature factors, assembly technology, component thermal sensitivity, service life, volume, cost etc. However, there is an increasing consensus for using the SnAgCu family of alloys for many applications for both reflow and wave soldering.

For most of our products, the solder is similar to Sn63 or Sn60 type solder. Some of our product families (such as RHE) may use a higher temperature solder. Work is underway to convert many devices to lead-free solders.

The best answer to this is a firm "maybe". DOS device drivers are available for most USB and Firewire controllers. If such drivers are added to a DOS boot diskette so that your USB or Firewire drive is "seen" by DOS, SpinRite will also be able to "see" and operate with it. However, the performance of the drive through the DOS drivers and the serial (USB/Firewire) cable will likely be far lower than if the external drive were connected directly to a PC's motherboard controller.

No. Fairchild is replacing the lead finish on it's products, not providing an alternative finish. Our intent is to provide only Pb-free products. We encourage our customers to accept this change for the health of our environment.

In general, no. However, PB does push your operating system far more than other programs. In case your PC is running close to the minimum specs of the game there could possibly be some issues, yes. But there is no reason to assume that this will be the case for everyone. And if you do have issues you are welcome to contact us and we'll see if it's possible to fix this in some way.

We highly recommend Audio Note silver solder. This is one of the very few solders that has been specifically developed for audio use and is very highly rated.

Solder is a lead/tin mixture that is melted and used to bond two pieces of certain types of metal together.

All RoHS compliant (Pb-free) products are backwards compatible and qualified for a lower temperature (220?C to 240?C) Pb process and solder. CML can confirm that RoHS compliant devices can and have been successfully soldered with Pb- based solders. Pure matte Sn has been chosen by CML due to its history of reliable perfomance in Sn-Pb soldering processes and its compatibility with Pb-free soldering.

Higher melting point of Lead-free solder may cause physical and thermal damage to components and PCB.