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GEIA Publishes Tin Whiskers Spec |
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Written by Mike Buetow
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Thursday, 07 September 2006 |
ARLINGTON, VA -- The Government Electronics and Information Technology Association
is publishing three industry consensus documents to help aerospace,
defense and other electronics segments comply with the EU RoHS and WEEE Directives.
Although
aerospace and defense products are expected to be either out of scope
or exempt from the directives, the aerospace and defense industries
will be swept along as the larger global electronics industry
transitions to lead-free products, according to GEIA.
The
documents were prepared by the Lead-free Electronics in Aerospace
Project Working Group and are sponsored jointly by the
Aerospace Industries Association, the Avionics Maintenance
Conference and GEIA. The standards are: - GEIA-STD-0005-1 - Performance Standard for Aerospace and High Performance Electronic Systems Containing Lead-Free Solder, for use by aerospace and defense electronic system
customers to communicate requirements to aerospace and defense
electronic system suppliers. It is an objective-based document that
states customer concerns in the form of objectives and requires
suppliers to document the processes they will use to satisfy the
objectives. Examples of objectives are quality and reliability,
configuration control, repair and rework.
- GEIA-STD-0005-2 - Standard for Mitigating the Effects of Tin Whiskers in Aerospace and High Performance Electronic Systems. Although
many aerospace and defense electronics manufacturers will continue to
use tin-lead as an attachment alloy for printed wiring assemblies, they
will be forced to use piece parts with lead-free alloy finishes, the
most common of which is pure tin. Pure tin finishes promote growth of
tin whiskers, which can cause serious reliability problems in aerospace
and defense systems.
The technical details of tin whisker
growth and control are not completely understood; but their effects
must be controlled in aerospace and defense products. The standard
provides a framework to do so. It is structured according to levels of
mitigation, which are selected by aerospace and defense electronics
manufacturers and users, based on the level of control required for the
given application. - GEIA-HB-0005-1 - Program Management/Systems Engineering Guidelines For Managing The Transition To Lead-Free Electronics, which provides guidance for program and systems engineering managers
for managing the use of lead-free electronics. Programs may
inadvertently introduce lead-free elements including piece part finish,
printed wiring board finish or assembly solder if careful coordination
between buyer and supplier is not exercised.
The handbook is
designed to assist programs in assuring the performance, reliability,
airworthiness, safety and certifiability of product(s) in accordance
with GEIA-STD-0005-1.
In addition to
the above documents, the LEAP WG is also working on two other documents
that will be released at a later date. They are: - Technical
Guidelines for Using Lead-free Solder in Aerospace and High Performance
Electronic Systems Containing Lead-Free Solder and Finishes.
- Technical Guidelines for Reliability Testing for Aerospace and High Performance Electronics Containing Lead-Free Solder.
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