Frequently Asked Questions

Background

Why is Fairchild migrating to components with Pb-free plating?
What is Fairchild's definition of Pb-free plating?

Conversion Strategy

What is Fairchild's Pb-free conversion strategy?
What about other lead-containing materials, such as die attach solder?
Will parts with tin/lead solder still be available after the transition to Pb-free? If so, for how long?
What if I need Pb-free components now and can't wait for the complete conversion?

Pb-Free Finishes

What Pb-free finishes are currently used by Fairchild?
Why did you decide on this plating?
What other Pb-free platings has Fairchild investigated?
Why weren't these platings selected for production use?
What Pb-free platings is Fairchild investigating for future use?

Pb-Free Part Marking

How can customers distinguish between Pb-free products and "standard" products?
Will the part number change to distinguish Pb-free components?

Characterization/Qualification Testing

What testing has been performed to evaluate and qualify Pb-free platings?

Component Storage

Are there any changes required in device storage conditions?

Board Assembly Requirements

Do I need to make any adjustments to my board assembly process to use Fairchild's Pb-free products?

Customer Support During Conversion

What is Fairchild doing to support customers through the transition period?
Who can customers contact for more information or if they experience problems using Fairchild's Pb-free products?

Other FAQs

What packages are being converted?
What lead finish will be available on Fairchild's Pb-free products?
When will Pb-free samples be available?
Will parts with tin-lead solder still be available after the transition to Pb-free? If so, for how long?
Will there be a cost impact associated with the change to Pb-free products?

For More Information

Who can customers contact for more information or if they experience problems using Fairchild's Pb-free products?
Does Fairchild have information available on their web site?

Background

Q. Why is Fairchild migrating to components with Pb-free plating?

A. Fairchild is launching a Pb-free initiative in response to concerns about the environmental impact of lead (Pb) used in solder finishes. Regulatory groups around the world have initiated legislation calling for companies to utilize Pb-free manufacturing processes. Many of our customers are also requesting products with a Pb-free finish.

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Q. What is Fairchild's definition of Pb-free plating?

A. Fairchild considers a plating to be Pb-free if it has no lead or lead-bearing materials purposely introduced during the manufacture of the product.

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Conversion Strategy

Q. What is Fairchild's Pb-free conversion strategy?

A. Fairchild is in the process of transitioning all possible products to a Pb-free finish. As the Pb-free finish is introduced, manufacture of products with tin-lead finish will be discontinued. Products that are assembled at multiple locations (both internally and at subcontracted facilities) are scheduled to be transitioned at the same time at all sites. Customers will be notified through our Process Change Notification (PCN) process prior to any changes.

During the transition to PB-Free finish there will be a 90-day period where PB-Free and SnPb lead finishes will be shipped interchangeably using the standard part number.

The most common Pb-free finish used for Fairchild products will be pure matte tin. Other finishes may also be used as appropriate, depending on the product or package involved.

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Q. What about other lead-containing materials, such as die attach solder?

A. Fairchild's initial focus will be on Pb-free plating. These high lead content materials are exempted from current legislation due to the technical limitations of replacement materials. Fairchild is actively investigating alternative solutions. Follow-on activities will be undertaken at a later date to eliminate these other sources of lead, although no firm schedule has been developed.

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Q. Will parts with tin/lead solder still be available after the transition to Pb-free? If so, for how long?

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

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Q. What if I need Pb-free components now and can't wait for the complete conversion?

A. Some products with a Pb-free finish may be available prior to the complete conversion. Please contact your local Fairchild Sales representative for additional information.

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Pb-Free Finishes

Q. What Pb-free finishes are currently used by Fairchild?

A. The primary Pb-free finish used by Fairchild is pure matte tin. Some packages may use nickel-palladium (NiPd) or nickel-palladium with a gold flash (NiPdAu). A small number of subcontracted packages will use tin-silver-copper (SnAgCu). Out of concern for solder joint integrity issues in leaded board assembly operations, FSC does not use tin bismuth in any of it's pb-free packages.

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Q. Why did you decide on this plating?

A. Pure matte tin provides a stable plating that is highly compatible with existing tin-lead solder processes and also Pb-free processes, such as those using a SnAgCu solder. Pure matte tin is a good choice from a manufacturing perspective. It is easier to control than plating of a multi-element alloy with a fixed composition. Pure matte tin has had significant use in the electronics industry and the plating chemistry is well understood.

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Q. What other Pb-free platings has Fairchild investigated?

A. Pb-free platings that have been evaluated or considered include SnBi, SnCu and SnAgCu.

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Q. Why weren't these platings selected for production use?

A. In addition to being highly compatible with both tin-lead and Pb-free processing, pure tin offers manufacturing benefits that allow Fairchild to offer a product with consistent plating composition.

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Q. What Pb-free platings is Fairchild investigating for future use?

A. Fairchild will continue to monitor the activities of packaging groups such as MCMS, HDPUG and NEMI, among others, and our many subcontractors as an indicator of industry direction. There is a possibility that other plating schemes recommended by these sources could be evaluated in the future, but there are no specific plans at this time.

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Pb-Free Part Marking

Q. How can customers distinguish between Pb-free products and "standard" products?

A. It is Fairchild's intent that products with Pb-free finishes will completely replace those currently offered with tin-lead. Once a product is converted, it will only be available with a Pb-free finish.

Fairchild is working hard to make sure that products with Pb-free finishes are compatible with existing tin-lead and newer Pb-free soldering processes. As such, we believe that customers will be able to use these products interchangeably during the transition period.

Since there will be no difference in form, fit or function and the parts will be qualified for either manufacturing process, once the conversion is complete there will be no distinction in the product marking.

The conversion to Pb-free plating will be timed to occur at the beginning of a date code period. In addition, all manufacturing sites for a given product will be converted at the same time. Therefore, products with a Pb-free plating will be distinguishable by the date code and plant identifier code.

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Q. Will the part number change to distinguish Pb-free components?

A. No. There are no part number changes associated with the conversion to Pb-free finishes.

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Characterization/Qualification Testing

Q. What testing has been performed to evaluate and qualify Pb-free platings?

A. Qualification testing included the following areas:

• Moisture Sensitivity
• Solderability
• Whisker Growth

Moisture Sensitivity Level (MSL) Certification: Fairchild Semiconductor has performed MSL certification of surface mount Pb-free components in compliance with the revised JEDEC industry standard J-STD-020C. In fact, for many packages Fairchild has exceeded the JEDEC requirements by performing environmental stress testing of autoclave (ACLV), biased humidity (THBT or HAST), and temperature cycling (TMCL) using a preconditioning profile with a peak temperature of 260°C. All other aspects of the JEDEC profile requirements have been complied with.

Solderability: Testing has been performed to ensure both forward and backward process compatibility of Fairchild Pb-free devices with various board assembly environments. To demonstrate forward compatibility, solderability testing was performed using SnAgCu solder at 245°C. In order to demonstrate backwards compatibility, standard SnPb solder was used at lower temperatures, as low as 215°C. These results demonstrate that Fairchild's Pb-free devices can be successfully integrated into either a Pb-free or tin-lead board assembly environment.

Whisker Growth: To address customer concerns relative to whisker growth in matte tin finishes, Fairchild Semiconductor has performed a prolonged medium temperature bake for 1344 hours at 50°C. Post stress inspections were performed to verify no whisker growth occurred. Post bake inspections were carried out at 1000X - 5000X magnification.

In addition to these qualification tests, Fairchild commissioned an outside laboratory (Gintic Electronics) to characterize the relative post-assembly solder joint strength of Pb-free plated components. Comparative testing on a variety of Pb-free finishes from a variety of package types was performed. Test results indicate the Pb-free packages produce a robust solder joint comparable to traditional tin-lead solder plated devices.

Pb-free component test results obtained to date are available on Fairchild's Pb-Free web site located at:
www.fairchildsemi.com/products/lead_free/product/index.html

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Component Storage

Q. Are there any changes required in device storage conditions?

A. Pb-free components manufactured with pure tin plating should not be stored for longer than one (1) week at temperatures below 13°C due to a phase transformation known as "Tin Pest". Below these temperatures, the tin plating converts to a powdery form that can cause solderability or electrical continuity problems.

Although there are no other storage restrictions, it is always a good practice to store electronic components in a controlled environment such that the product is not exposed to extremes of temperature or humidity for extended periods of time.

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Board Assembly Requirements

Q. Do I need to make any adjustments to my board assembly process to use Fairchild's Pb-free products?

A. Pb-free components manufactured by Fairchild are qualified for use in board assembly processes using either tin-lead or SnAgCu solders.

Our testing shows that Pb-free components can be used interchangeably in either board assembly process. No process adjustments are required. Some of our product groups have been supplying components with pure matte tin for quite some time. This also gives us a significant amount of customer experience to support our testing.

Q. What about the need for an elevated reflow temperature when using Pb-free components?

A. Although pure matte tin does have a higher reflow temperature than traditional tin-lead plating, our testing has shown good wetting and reliable solder joints using tin-lead solder and reflow temperatures as low as 215°C. Therefore, we believe that elevated temperatures are not required in order to successfully use Fairchild's Pb-free components. However, due to the higher melting points of many Pb-free solders, higher reflow temperatures may be required if the board assembly process is using a Pb-free solder paste.

Fairchild's Pb-free components are tested to ensure robustness for elevated reflow temperature conditions. Any product that does not meet these higher temperature requirements will be clearly identified.

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Customer Support During Conversion

Q. What is Fairchild doing to support customers through the transition period?

A. A Pb-free team has been established and meets regularly to coordinate the conversion efforts of all of our manufacturing locations, including our qualified subcontractors.

Customers will be made aware of all conversions to Pb-free finishes through our Process Change Notification (PCN) process.

Fairchild will provide technical information and reliability data, as required, to help minimize any concerns and complete customers' qualifications in a timely manner.

Product samples are available to assist customers in their evaluation of Fairchild's Pb-free products. Please note that due to the vast array of products supplied by Fairchild, samples may not be available for every device type.

Product availability information is available on our Pb-Free web site located at:
www.fairchildsemi.com/products/lead_free/index.html

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Q. Who can customers contact for more information or if they experience problems using Fairchild's Pb-free products?

A. Please contact your local Fairchild Sales representative or Customer Quality Engineer for additional information.

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Other FAQs

Q. What packages are being converted?

A. Most of Fairchild's packages will be converted. There may be some products that are not converted due to technical limitations or a lack of market demand.

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Q. What lead finish will be available on Fairchild's Pb-free products?

A. Pure matte tin plating will be used for the majority of Fairchild's products. Any exceptions to this will be clearly identified.

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Q. When will Pb-free samples be available?

A. Pb-free samples for most package types are available now.

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Q. Will parts with tin-lead solder still be available after the transition to Pb-free? If so, for how long?

A. 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.

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Q. Will there be a cost impact associated with the change to Pb-free products?

A. No. There will be no price changes as a result of conversion to Pb-free.

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For More Information

Q. Who can customers contact for more information or if they experience problems using Fairchild's Pb-free products?

A. Please contact your local Fairchild Sales representative or Customer Quality Engineer for additional information.

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Q. Does Fairchild have information available on their web site?

A. Yes, you can access detailed information about Fairchild's Pb-Free Implementation at:
www.fairchildsemi.com/products/lead_free/index.html

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