Tin Whiskers: The Next Y2K Problem?
My company (we make semiconductor lasers) is scrambling along with other high-tech electronics and laser manufacturers to meet the growing wave of regulations–from Europe, Japan, and probably others–requiring lead to be phased out of various types of electronic products. As this article points out, this is likely to exacerbate the “tin whiskers” problem–in which microprocessors and other circuit elements can be shorted out when the metal grows small “whiskers”–since lead helps inhibit this.
Thanks, Europe!
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The interesting part in the article is about industry anticipating this trend for “lead-free” electronics, finding possible substitutes before government prohibition. But never underestimate government’s power to anticipate the anticipation, and come up with an early prohibition on something so inocuous as to make the ridiculous mercury+vaccine controversy seem akin to an asteroid hitting the Earth.
It is kind of amusing to read about the reasons behind this prohibition: since many electronic boards are getting dumped into landfills, lead from the tin solder could accumulate in the soil and hurt us really, really, like, bad. Never mind the content of lead in tin solder is quite low, and even lower the quantity in a typical electronics board, especially with miniaturization. This is nothing more than bureaucratic-induced hysteria coupled with let’s-do-something intervensionism.
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