THAT Corporation and CEDOS as Distributor are committed to meeting the European Union's RoHS standards for lead-free semiconductors before the standards take effect. This section of our web site is designed to answer your questions about our implementation of the RoHS standard.

THAT Corporation defines "Lead-Free" to mean semiconductor products that are compatible with the requirements of the European Union's Directive on the Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment 2002/95/EG of January 27, 2003.

All lead free parts however require a different approach for soldering, therefore regular parts containing Sn/Pb  can not just be substituted with the lead free version without changes to the manufacturing process.

Most lead-free solders have a melting point above 215° C compared to the 180 ° C for the old fashioned solders containing lead. Components and the PC board material need to be able to withstand higher soldering temperatures. Since all lead-free solders like Sn 95.5% Ag 3.5%  Cu 0.5% solder exhibit poorer wettability compared to tin-lead (Sn/Pb) solders, solder defects may increase, requiring additional rework.  For hand soldering  Sn 99.7% Cu 0.3% solder is widely recommended. Flux activators in solder paste and wave solder flux must be designed to function properly at higher soldering reflow temperatures. Higher reflow oven temperatures equate to higher energy usage and energy costs. Board and component metallization need to be lead-free. Since lead-free solder joints differ from tin-lead in appearance, quality guidelines for visual inspection will require modification.

First studies indicate, that a correctly performed lead free solder process produces solder joints that are more reliable than the ones containing lead.

Many of the alternative RoHS compliant solder materials being used in IC assembly today require peak soldering temperatures of 250 to 260°C, versus peak temperatures of 230 to 235°C for Sn-Pb solder. This means that RoHS compliant ICs must survive higher temperatures in the soldering process.
All THAT's surface-mount RoHS compliant parts are compatible with peak reflow soldering temperatures of 260°C.

For more details, please refer to the IPC / JEDEC Website.

* this product is not yet available, when released it will be lead-free.

**  THAT's “green” components do not contain any intentionally added lead, halogens, antimony, or inorganic phosphorous and are certified for a surface mount temperature of 260°C. Plus, they do not contain other “non-green” elements commonly found in standard semiconductor devices, including cadmium, mercury, and hexavalent chromium compounds, as well as polybrominated biphenyls and polybrominated diphenyl ethers.

Lead-Free Part Numbers

THAT Corporation's lead-free ICs are denoted by a suffix at the end of the part number. The suffix is required for ordering, but will not appear on the parts themselves due to space limitations. The correct suffix depends upon the pin finish alloy used on that specific part. To order a lead-free version of one of our ICs, simply add the appropriate suffix to the end of the base part number.
THAT is currently offering three distinct pin finishes. Nickel-Palladium-Gold (Ni-Pd-Au) Tin-Bismuth (Si-Bi) and Pure Tin (Sn). The table below lists the leg finish for each product and its appropriate lead-free part number.

Lead-Free IC Marking & Packaging

Material Data Declaration Sheets

THAT Corporation's Material Data Declaration Sheets (MDDS) disclose substances contained in their integrated circuits. They list the Materials and Substances included in the Joint Industry Guide (JIG) - Material Composition Declaration Guide, released on September 19, 2003. This covers all materials defined in Article 4.1 of the European Directive 2002/95/EC on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment (RoHS Directive).

 For more  information contact: icsales@cedos.com

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Last modified: 04/12/08