Third Annual Tin Whisker Workshop Scheduled for May 30 at ECTC

The workshop is scheduled for May 30, 2006, at ECTC in San Diego, Calif. The workshop will provide participants an update on recent activities in both the testing and modeling of tin whiskers. In addition, a roundtable discussion will focus on implementation of the JEDEC/IPC specifications relating to tin whiskers: JESD201, “Environmental Acceptance Requirements for Tin Whisker Susceptibility of Tin and Tin Alloy Surface Finishes;” JEDEC/IPC joint publication JP002, “Current Tin Whiskers Theory and Mitigation Practices Guideline;” and JESD22A121, “Test Method for Measuring Whisker Growth on Tin and Tin Alloy Surface Finishes.” The goal of the workshop is to help industry identify strategies to help assure that long lifecycle applications will not be subject to tin whisker failures. The workshop is chaired by Ron Gedney, iNEMI consultant. Maureen Williams, mechanical engineer for NIST is co-chair. Dr. Henning Leidecker chief engineer of the Parts, Packaging and Assembly Technologies Office of NASA, will serve as moderator. For additional information about the workshop, visit: “These workshops have proven valuable for bringing industry, government and academia together to share knowledge about, and expand our understanding of, tin whiskers,” said Carol Handwerker, professor of materials engineering at Purdue University, who is the former chief of the Metallurgy Division at NIST and moderator of the first Tin Whisker Workshop. “The first workshop focused the efforts of the electronics community by clarifying our understanding of when and how whiskers grow. The second workshop assessed state-of-the art analytical techniques, such as focused ion beam (FIB), electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and wafer curvature, that could be used to separate the complex effects of stress, composition and structure on whisker formation. This workshop will discuss the risks that remain, based on our current understanding of how whiskers form, and how recent standards specifications are being implemented.” “As the commercial market moves towards environmentally friendly products free of lead, it becomes more important than ever for the industry to understand the tin whisker phenomenon,” said Torsten Wipiejewski, ECTC program chair. “ECTC is a proud to once again host this timely and informative workshop.”