Long-term reliability of lead-free electronic systems

Industries that have been excluded from being required to transition to lead-free electronics (based on RoHs legislation) are nevertheless under economic pressure to transition. However, they are hesitant due to the unavailability of long-term reliability data. This study investigates degradation mechanisms of lead-free electronics systems that were used or stored for 10 years in laboratory conditions. A series of system diagnosis were conducted to evaluate the overall functional health of these computer systems. Accelerated life-time model from the literature was used to estimate the lifetime of the systems using their operating conditions input. These results were compared with current functionality status of the systems.