Evaluation of selected Japanese lead-free consumer electronics

This paper discusses the transition to lead-free electronics, with emphasis on Japanese companies. The results of reverse engineering two Japanese minidisk players with "green" labels are presented. The minidisk players analyzed were Sonyʹs MZ-E909 and Matsushitaʹs SJ-MJ-90-A. Both of the minidisk players had three circuit cards, which were analyzed using a variety of methods including EDS, WDS, and ICP-AES. Data resulting from these tests was included along with a discussion on its significance. Moreover, the two "green" minidisk players were compared in terms of solder compositions and lead-free implementation strategies. This study revealed that products bearing the "green" label were not necessarily lead-free, but rather conformed to one of many definitions of lead-free devices. It was also found that the Japanese approach for achieving lead-free products appears to be based on an incremental transition by application, even at the board level.