Edited by Sanka Ganesan & Michael Pecht
Published by CALCE EPSC Press
Paperback with 11 Chapters, 450 pages with diagrams and photographs.
ISBN 09707174 7 4 www.calce.umd.edu

This book came to my attention through a direct mailshot from CALCE. I have been on their circulation list for some time; this group are involved in very diverse projects. I feel that this text may not get the coverage it deserves, I will try to ensure as many people find out about this book as possible, as it is good value.

One chapter is part written by Jasbir Bath who I know from his days at ITRI in the UK, now Soldertech/Tin Technology. Jasbir and his colleagues at Solectron provide an overview of the practical production issues of lead-free manufacturing including their personal experiences. Solectron have also supported this reviewer in the UK, they are one of the leading contractors in lead-free. Jasbir covers each step in the process including, printing, placement, reflow, wave rework and inspection. The chapter tries to pick up the practical issues of controlling material and products in a demanding contract market with the different demands of customers all trying to come to grips with lead-free.

The book contains chapters mainly written by staff at CALCE but with contributions by industry and one other University balancing theory with practical work. The foreword is by David Bergman, IPC's Mr Lead-Free who outlines industry position and the need for industry co-operation. Further chapters cover alloys, components, assembly and, of course, reliability. I thought the text on components was very useful covering some of the failure modes and methods of test. I also like the section on lead plating and the problems associated with plating chemistry.

A number of chapters references the SMART Group based on their Mission to Japan Report and the Mission to Japan seminars we ran after our visit. SMART Group, however, cannot take credit for bringing this directly to the author's attention as the editorial references are all from Tim Fryer's coverage in EM&T, Tim is editor in the UK, well done Timbo!

I particularly enjoyed reading the chapter on the cost of lead-free introduction, a simple tick sheet for engineers would have been valuable as well. Most of the areas of cost were highlighted with some exceptions. Like most engineers the author likes to see inside products so the final chapter on lead-free applications was interesting. Looking at the product build just a like a strip down investigation. I felt with the number of products in the marketplace this should have been greatly expanded.

I felt that all the key topics were well covered and any engineer would benefit from reading this book on lead-free. It covers many of the key points and is up-to-date with some good references. A very useful reference source and at an affordable price. With the dollar price approaching $2 to £1 pound, like Levi jeans it's a great time to buy!