With the RoHS deadline fast approaching July 1, 2006, you should feel assured that Axon Circuit has made the necessary preparations to fully confirm to this requirement. In fact, we have gone out of our way and are already providing lead-free boards. In our PDF Download section and below, we have included important information to help you in determining if you need to be lead free or not, and if so, what types of laminates and final finishes will work best for your application(s).

Our Lead-Free Solutions ....• Our boards currently do not contain mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, ....  polybrominated biphenyls or polybromiated diphenyl ethers ....• We offer various lead-free final finish choices, such as Electroless Nickel ....  Immersion Gold (ENIG), Immersion Silver, Immersion Tin, or Organic Solderability ....  Preservative (OSP) ....• We have added high temperature laminates to our inventory to withstand the ....  lead-free PCB assembly process, including FR408 and IS410 ....• These laminates meet IPC 4101A/24/26/28

RoHS Compliant
What Is RoHS? RoHS stands for Restriction of use of Hazardous Substances. RoHS is a directive issued January 27, 2003 by the European Commission (EC). It directs European Union (EU) member nations to enact local legislation by August 13, 2004, which will implement the RoHS directive as regulatory requirements before the activation date of July 1, 2006.

At Axon Circuit, not only are we providing lead free solutions, but we are also continuing to be RoHS complaint. Therefore, the PCBs we supply meet the restricted RoHS concentration levels for mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls and polybromiated diphenyl ethers.

Although we are now offering various lead-free final finish options, we will continue to provide the tin/lead hot air solder level.

Laminates
You should be aware that some lead-free assembly processes require the laminate to withstand temperatures in excess of 260 degrees C. Therefore, we have added new high-temperature laminates such as FR408 and IS410 to our inventory so that our customers will be able to meet the higher temperature cycling requirements for some lead-free assembly applications.

The problems that can occur with traditional FR-4 material is that the laminate has insufficient thermal characteristics in accordance with lead-free soldering techniques, which require prolonged exposure at higher melting point and reflow temperatures. In essence, material decomposition due to prolonged exposure can lead to delamination.

Lead-Free Final Finish Options

ENIG –
• Nickel structure that resists corrosion
• Patented technology to overcome harmful soldermask effects
• Formulated to prevent black pad
• Excellent solderability, contact resistance and wire bondability
• Low to high frequency applications
• 24-month shelf life

Immersion Silver –
• The #1 immersion silver final finish
• Specified by fabricators, assemblers and OEM’s worldwide
• Exceptional solderjoint strength, touchpad functionality and wire bondability
• Superior conductivity for ultra-high RF applications
• The clear solution for black pad, tin whiskers and exposed copper
• 12-month shelf life

Immersion Tin –
• Inhibits whisker formation
• Process simplicity with minimal tin oxidation
• Corrosion-resistant
• Ideal for compliant pins and press-fit connectors
• 6-month shelf life

OSP –
• High durability and reliability
• Excellent through-hole solderability after multiple reflows
• Even, uniform surface coverage
• No OSP deposit on gold
• 6-month shelf life