Prevention of Tin Whiskers
Screening for the Presence of Lead (Pb) in Tin
Alloys with Handheld XRF
Product
reliability is an issue of concern for most manufacturers; for those in
aerospace, defense, or medical-related industries, premature product failure can
result in catastrophic consequences.
The main problems caused by Pb-free manufacturing to these high-reliability, or
“Hi-Rel”
industries
are twofold:
- The lack of test data associated with Pb-free components and systems
- In many cases, 20 years of test data is required before new
components are introduced into finished products
- The danger posed by the presence of high-purity tin (Sn), leading to a
phenomenon known as filamentary corrosion — also known as “whiskering”
Whiskering is a naturally occurring phenomenon that results in the
spontaneous and unexplainable growth of tiny, needle-like protrusions, which
break loose, short circuiting system boards and terminals and seriously
crippling or destroying entire systems.
Screening all parts and components for the presence of prohibited materials
prior to installation can prevent the loss or degradation of these
reliability-critical systems after deployment, saving millions of dollars in
potential lost revenues and development efforts. Thermo Scientific
NITON® analyzers are designed to provide a fast, nondestructive means of
identifying prohibited materials – effectively "shaving the risk" of system
failure.