The trade group is basing its findings on a recent RoHS/lead-free summit at which scores of company's traded insights on the European Union's Restriction on Use of Certain Hazardous Substances and Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directives.
The meetings were held October 18-20 and drew close to 190 people.
One primary concern: how companies will be able to prove compliance -- to regulatory bodies and to their customers. The directives are not explicit on this point, and the EU's Technical Adaptation Committee, responsible for providing guidance on RoHS implementation, has not yet made recommendations, NEMI said in a press statement.
Among the attendees' recommendations:
Breakout groups then explored potential areas of industry collaboration. Among the ideas:
Presentations from the summit and reports from the breakout groups are available at www.nemi.org/newsroom/Presentations/RoHS_summit.html.
Minneapolis, MN - The SMTA's Pan Pacific Microelectronics Symposium & Exhibit (smta.org/pan_pac/) will take place Jan. 25-27, 2005, at the Sheraton Kauai Resort in Kauai, HI. Kei Biu, of SMT Corp, will give the keynote presentation on Green Electronics in China.
The technical program will consist of sessions on 3-D Chip Stacking, System in Package (SiP), RF & Sensor Technologies, High Performance Packaging and Assembly Management Strategies.
Additional sessions will cover Pb-Free Reliability, Solder and Rework Processes, Pb-free Microstructures and Performance, Pb-free Implementation, Package Solder Joint Reliability and Electronic Adhesives, Chip Attach and Materials Technologies, Cleaning and Surface Treatments, Packaging and Assembly Trends, and Inspection and Test.
The event averages more than 100 participants annually from 15 different countries throughout Europe, the Americas and the Pacific Basin.
For more information, contact JoAnn Stromberg: 952-920-7682; joann@smta.org.
Endicott, NY -- Endicott Interconnect Technology was recently issued a patent to improve package reliability, its second since the company's formation in 2002.
In late October, EI received their first U.S. Patent (6,809,269) "Circuitized Substrate Assembly and Method of Making Same" - a multilayer printed circuit that uses conductive paste to form electrical connections between layers of the structure.
This was followed by the U.S. patent issued this week (6,815,837), "Electronic Package with Strengthened Conductive Pad" - an approach to strengthening the design of printed circuits to improve their reliability when assembled with components.
Endicott engineers have filed over 38 U.S. patent applications to date.