Reliability of High Temperature Lead-Free Solder Alternative

European RoHS directives are driving the substitution of Pb-free solders for Pb-containing solders at the component to board level in order to reduce toxicity concerns. While European RoHS regulations currently exempt high Pb solders used for component and die attach in high temperature applications, there is a strong drive to find Pb-free alternatives for these high temperature electronic applications, as well. This paper presents constitutive and reliability information on one of the widely used high lead solder materials as a baseline, and discusses a potential alternative technology for high temperature solder that can be used at temperatures greater than 200degC