NEMI, NIST and TMS Sponsor Workshop on Tin Whiskers

The National Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (NEMI), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS) are co-sponsoring an all-day workshop, Tin Whiskers: Cause and Effect, on Sunday, March 2, at the San Diego Convention Center.

HERNDON, Va. - January 23, 2002 - The National Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (NEMI), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS) are co-sponsoring an all-day workshop, Tin Whiskers: Cause and Effect, on Sunday, March 2, at the San Diego Convention Center. The event is scheduled in conjunction with the 2003 TMS Annual Conference and Exhibition, which begins Monday, March 3.

The electronics industry has known about the tendency of pure tin to form 'whiskers for 50 years," said Maureen Williams, co-chair of the NEMI Tin Whisker Modeling Project and metallurgist at NIST. To date, mitigation strategies have typically involved the addition of lead to the tin coating. However, as industry moves toward lead-free solders and coatings in electronics assemblies, the prospect of using pure tin coatings has brought this issue to the forefront, raising concerns about reliability."

Williams says that many theories have been advanced as to the cause of tin whiskers, primarily based on stress in the tin layer. However, the fundamental mechanism of whisker formation is not known, or at best, not agreed on by the scientific community. There is no basic model of the conditions needed for whiskers to form and, without this model, it is not possible to assure that long-lifecycle products will not be subject to whisker formation and subsequent system failures.

This workshop is intended to bring together key researchers, compare work that has been done in the area of tin whiskers, and see if a consensus can be developed on a basic model, or define the work required to reach such a consensus. The end goal is to provide direction to the electronics industry that will assure that long-lifecycle applications will not be subject to tin whisker failures.

The workshop will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. in Room 11 of the San Diego Convention Center, with Dr. William Boettinger of NISTs Metallurgy Division serving as moderator. The morning session will include papers presented by Dr. King N. Tu (Department of Materials, Science and Engineering, UCLA, Los Angeles), Dr. Dong Nyung Lee (School of Materials Science and Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea), George Galyon (IBM) and Chien Xu (Cookson Electronics). The afternoon session will allow for discussion of the various theories affecting whisker formation with the objective of combining or simplifying the various hypotheses into a workable model. Ways to experimentally verify the model will also be discussed.

There is no registration fee but, for planning purposes and to receive advance materials, attendees are encouraged to sign up for the workshop. A registration form and workshop agenda can be found on the NEMI website (www.nemi.org - see link for Workshop on Tin Whiskers).

About NEMI
The National Electronics Manufacturing Initiatives mission is to facilitate leadership of the North American electronics manufacturing supply chain. Based in Herndon, Va., the industry-led consortium is made up of approximately 65 electronics manufacturers, suppliers, industry associations and consortia, government agencies and universities. NEMI roadmaps the needs of the North American electronics industry, identifies gaps in the technology infrastructure, establishes implementation projects to eliminate these gaps (both business and technical), and stimulates standards activities to speed the introduction of new technologies. The consortium also works with government, universities and other funding agencies to set priorities for future industry needs and R&D initiatives. For additional information about NEMI, visit www.nemi.org.

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