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

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 continues to provide traditional Pb-base devices available, however, we recommend conversion to Pb-free variants as they become available.

Mini-Circuits has instituted a RoHS/Pb-Free program in response to legislation and environmental standards proposed by the EU, Japan and customers. As an ISO-14001 certified company, Mini-Circuits is committed to providing quality products that are in harmony with the environment. Please see our "Statement of Policy"

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.

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.

The IPC standard J-STD-001D covers soldering materials and processes. In this revision it includes information about Pb-free manufacturing.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Popular CLDC-based devices that are shipping today include cellular phones and pagers. Most of these devices also rely on MIDP to complete the J2ME environment. For a list of current J2ME licensees please refer to: Java Authorized Licensees of J2ME. You can also refer to the J2ME Device page for a sample of popular J2ME devices that are in the market today. Unless otherwise licensed, code in all technical manuals herein (including articles, FAQs, samples) is provided under this License.

Integration and compatibility with business applications and processes is primarily an issue of reading and writing the data associated with those applications.

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.

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.

Allegro has been producing Pb-free devices for several years. For availability in a particular device, consult the datasheet for the device type, and contact your local Allegro representative for lead times.

In 2006, Diodes, Inc. will eliminate most SnPb plated versions of products. In addition, more and more products will be introduced in a "Green" format. Diodes, Inc.'s Green products will not contain Lead, Halogens or Sb compounds. Small outline packages (SOD, SOT, SC-59) will be converted first. Over time, as demand warrants, the traditional non-green products will be discontinued. This will be announced by a Product Change Notice (PCN). Demand will affect which packages are discontinued first.

A component or assembly shall be defined as containing no Pb when the Pb content of the device is less than 0.1% by weight and is not intentionally introduced. This definition is in accordance to IPC/EIA J-STD-006.