Evaluation of selected Japanese lead-free consumer electronics

• Published in: IEEE transactions on electronics packaging manufacturing Vol. 26; no. 4; pp. 305 - 312
• Main Authors: Fukuda, Y., Casey, P., Pecht, M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY IEEE 01.10.2003; Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Circuits; Consumer electronics; Electronic waste; Electronics; Electronics industry; Emission analysis; Environmentally friendly manufacturing techniques; Europe; Exact sciences and technology; Inductively coupled plasma; Industrial electronics; Information technology; Labels; Lead; Microelectronic fabrication (materials and surfaces technology); Players; Semiconductor device manufacture; Semiconductor electronics. Microelectronics. Optoelectronics. Solid state devices; Solid state circuits; Spectroscopy; Strategy; Asia; Japan; Microelectronic fabrication; ICP-AES lead-free; Reverse engineering; EDS; WDS; Lead free soldering; Circuit cards; Consumer electronics; Environmental protection; green labels
• ISSN: 1521-334X; 1558-0822
• DOI: 10.1109/TEPM.2003.820820

This paper discusses the transition to lead-free electronics, with emphasis on Japanese companies. The results of reverse engineering two Japanese minidisk players with "green" labels are presented. The minidisk players analyzed were Sony's MZ-E909 and Matsushita's SJ-MJ-90-A. Both of the minidisk players had three circuit cards, which were analyzed using a variety of methods including EDS, WDS, and ICP-AES. Data resulting from these tests was included along with a discussion on its significance. Moreover, the two "green" minidisk players were compared in terms of solder compositions and lead-free implementation strategies. This study revealed that products bearing the "green" label were not necessarily lead-free, but rather conformed to one of many definitions of lead-free devices. It was also found that the Japanese approach for achieving lead-free products appears to be based on an incremental transition by application, even at the board level.