Due to the higher melting point of lead-free Sn-Ag-Cu alloy, higher reflow soldering temperatures are required for lead-free PCB assembly. Consequently, reflow oven energy consumption increases as well.

This research work is focused on the potential opportunity to reduce higher energy requirements with the use of modern thermal profiling and process optimization software.

This article originally appeared in Global SMT & Packaging magazine 6.5 - May 2006.

Download the full article (free) in PDF format.

Piotr Kaênica is NPI engineer at Flextronics (flextronics.com); piotr.kaznica@pl.flextronics.com.