Intel, National Semiconductor to Get the Lead Out

Intel will begin shipping the lead-free technology with select microprocessors and chipsets in Q3, 2004, and embedded IA processors in Q2, 2004. Additional products will be transitioned as manufacturers become able to handle them. The company shipped its first lead-free memory chips last year.

Intel’s new packages use lead-free solder balls, about the size of salt crystals, and represent the majority of lead used in Intel microprocessor packaging. Intel is working with the industry to find a reliable solution for the tiny amount of lead still needed inside the processor packaging to connect the actual silicon “core” to the package.

In addition to reducing lead in its integrated circuit products, National will also significantly reduce bromine- and antimony-based flame retardants in and effort to make more environmentally neutral electronic components.

“As a leader in packaging technology, National is committed to providing its customers with state-of-the art chip technologies in the widest possible range of products and package types,” Kamal Aggarwal, executive vice president, Central Technology Manufacturing Group at National, says. “With our lead-free packaging program, National is extending its effort to make innovative high-performance products that are environmentally friendly and easier to recycle. As soon as our customers require lead-free packages, we will provide them.”

Today, approximately 90 percent of National’s portfolio of 15,000 analog and mixed-signal integrated circuits is available in lead-free package types. Lead was formerly used in the plating finish of copper leadframe-based packages. It was also used in the solder balls of an array of packages. National will replace the lead in leadframe packages with a matte tin finish and in the solder balls with a tin-silver-copper alloy. Once this program is fully implemented, National expects to replace approximately five tons of lead yearly.

The lead-free transition is an industry-wide effort with many technological, logistical and economic challenges, according to Intel. Since 2000, the company has been working with industry consortia and the European Union’s Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) legislation committee to come up with a solution that can be used worldwide. To achieve this, the company developed reference procedures on its own research assembly lines to help customers implement lead-free technology in their manufacturing processes.

“Intel shipped millions of lead-free Flash Memory components in 2003,” Nasser Grayeli, Intel vice president and director of assembly technology development, Technology and Manufacturing Group, says. He says the company’s recent announcement is the “next major step on the road to a lead-free product line for Intel’s high volume CPU and chipset product lines. Our goal has been to develop a total solution that addresses the needs and concerns of our customers and suppliers, from the package materials to motherboard manufacturing. By doing this, our customers will be able to launch platforms with the new lead-free technology in the second half of 2004.”

Intel qualified its first lead-free Plastic Ball Grid Array package in 2001 for use with its Flash memory, and shipped its first lead-free product in 2002. The lead/tin solder previously used for connecting this package to the motherboard was replaced with a tin/silver/copper alloy. This work allowed Intel and its customers to gain valuable insight about what was required both technologically and logistically to make the transition to lead-free technology.

Intel’s new Flip Chip Ball Grid Array package also uses a tin/silver/copper alloy to connect the chip package to the motherboard. However, until Intel and the industry can certify a replacement that meets performance and reliability requirements, a tiny of amount of lead/tin (about .02 grams) is still used inside the sealed package to attach the silicon core to the package.

In 2000, National began an intensive multi-step program to reduce and eliminate lead in its semiconductor packages.

“Electronic products are typically recycled to recover precious metals such as gold and silver used in the printed circuit board,” Aggarwal says. “Eliminating lead from components will dramatically improve efficiency in the separation and disposal steps of the recycling operation.”