CircuiTree - September 2008 - (Page 26) New Halogen-Free Materials David Bedner fter more than 10 years of market analysis, cost analysis, and many false starts, it now appears that the electronics industry is finally serious about going green; and by going green I mean going halogen free. Concerns regarding the health and safety of halogenated flame retardants in PWB applications date to the early 1990s when it was discovered that under certain combustion scenarios, highly toxic dioxins and furans could be generated. The proposed mechanism for these phenomena is thought to be the catalytic action of bromine and chlorine ions in the gas phase with the combustion byproduct of the PWB’s base materials leading to the formation of dioxins and furans. This led many countries, with 26 September 2008 • circuitree.com A Europe taking the early lead, to pass new legislation to restrict or ban many halogenated flame retardants (i.e., some halogenated flame retardants were outright banned while others continue to be used under various exemptions). The arrival of halogen-free electronic materials to the marketplace was in the early 2000s when several Japanese OEMs committed to either going completely halogen free or at the least committing that all new products would be halogen free. As of late, many more OEMs are committing to halogen-free products: Apple, Dell, Hewlett Packard, and others have all committed to at least offering new products that are brominated flame retardant (BFR) free and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) free by 2008, with others committed to a 2009 timeline. But let’s first be clear on what is presently meant by the term halogen free. The halogens are a group of five elements in Group VIIA of the periodic table that include fluorine, chlorine, bromine, iodine, and astatine. Presently we will only consider chlorine and bromine; fluorine, iodine, and astatine all get a pass (for now). In our industry, what is generally meant by halogen free is usually taken to mean no BFRs and PVC free. Currently, IPC has a task group working to better define what is meant by the term halogen free. While the health and safety concerns of halogen-containing materials are still being debated and studied, it is pressure from nongovernmental entities, and not legislation, http://circuitree.com
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of CircuiTree - September 2008 CircuiTree - September 2008 Contents My Line Industry Review Tech Talk Flexible Thinking New Halogen-Free Materials: Their Time Has Finally Arrived Asian Section IPC Issues PCB and Package Convergence Ask the Flexperts Market Outlook IPCA Showcase Technical Product Spotlights Classified Ads Upcoming Events Ad Index CircuiTree - September 2008 CircuiTree - September 2008 - CircuiTree - September 2008 (Page Cover1) CircuiTree - September 2008 - CircuiTree - September 2008 (Page Cover2) CircuiTree - September 2008 - CircuiTree - September 2008 (Page 1) CircuiTree - September 2008 - Contents (Page 2) CircuiTree - September 2008 - Contents (Page 3) CircuiTree - September 2008 - Contents (Page 4) CircuiTree - September 2008 - Contents (Page 5) CircuiTree - September 2008 - My Line (Page 6) CircuiTree - September 2008 - My Line (Page 7) CircuiTree - September 2008 - Industry Review (Page 8) CircuiTree - September 2008 - Industry Review (Page 9) CircuiTree - September 2008 - Industry Review (Page 10) CircuiTree - September 2008 - Industry Review (Page 11) CircuiTree - September 2008 - Industry Review (Page 12) CircuiTree - September 2008 - Industry Review (Page 13) CircuiTree - September 2008 - Industry Review (Page 14) CircuiTree - September 2008 - Industry Review (Page 15) CircuiTree - September 2008 - Industry Review (Page 16) CircuiTree - September 2008 - Industry Review (Page 17) CircuiTree - September 2008 - Industry Review (Page 18) CircuiTree - September 2008 - Industry Review (Page 19) CircuiTree - September 2008 - Industry Review (Page 20) CircuiTree - September 2008 - Industry Review (Page 21) CircuiTree - September 2008 - Tech Talk (Page 22) CircuiTree - September 2008 - Tech Talk (Page 23) CircuiTree - September 2008 - Flexible Thinking (Page 24) CircuiTree - September 2008 - Flexible Thinking (Page 25) CircuiTree - September 2008 - New Halogen-Free Materials: Their Time Has Finally Arrived (Page 26) CircuiTree - September 2008 - New Halogen-Free Materials: Their Time Has Finally Arrived (Page 27) CircuiTree - September 2008 - New Halogen-Free Materials: Their Time Has Finally Arrived (Page 28) CircuiTree - September 2008 - New Halogen-Free Materials: Their Time Has Finally Arrived (Page 29) CircuiTree - September 2008 - Asian Section (Page 30) CircuiTree - September 2008 - Asian Section (Page 31) CircuiTree - September 2008 - Asian Section (Page 32) CircuiTree - September 2008 - Asian Section (Page 33) CircuiTree - September 2008 - Asian Section (Page 34) CircuiTree - September 2008 - Asian Section (Page 35) CircuiTree - September 2008 - Asian Section (Page 36) CircuiTree - September 2008 - Asian Section (Page 37) CircuiTree - September 2008 - Asian Section (Page 38) CircuiTree - September 2008 - Asian Section (Page 39) CircuiTree - September 2008 - Asian Section (Page 40) CircuiTree - September 2008 - IPC Issues (Page 41) CircuiTree - September 2008 - PCB and Package Convergence (Page 42) CircuiTree - September 2008 - PCB and Package Convergence (Page 43) CircuiTree - September 2008 - PCB and Package Convergence (Page 44) CircuiTree - September 2008 - Ask the Flexperts (Page 45) CircuiTree - September 2008 - Market Outlook (Page 46) CircuiTree - September 2008 - Market Outlook (Page 47) CircuiTree - September 2008 - Market Outlook (Page 48) CircuiTree - September 2008 - Market Outlook (Page 49) CircuiTree - September 2008 - IPCA Showcase (Page 50) CircuiTree - September 2008 - Technical Product Spotlights (Page 51) CircuiTree - September 2008 - Classified Ads (Page 52) CircuiTree - September 2008 - Classified Ads (Page 53) CircuiTree - September 2008 - Classified Ads (Page 54) CircuiTree - September 2008 - Classified Ads (Page 55) CircuiTree - September 2008 - Ad Index (Page 56) CircuiTree - September 2008 - Ad Index (Page Cover3) CircuiTree - September 2008 - Ad Index (Page Cover4)
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