High-temperature lead-free solder alternatives

For lead-free solders in the high-temperature regime, unfortunately, a limited number of alloying systems are available. These are Bi based alloys, gold involving alloys and Zn-Al based alloys. Based on these systems, possible candidate alloys were designed to have a melting range between 270 degrees C and 350 degrees C. Each has its own superior characteristics as well as some drawbacks however none of them can fulfill all the requirements to replace the current high-lead content solders. Even the alternative technologies that are currently being developed cannot address several critical issues of high-temperature soldering. Therefore, further research and development of high-temperature lead-free soldering is obviously needed. (c) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.