IPC A Guideline for Defining "Low- Halogen" Electronic Products. Working Draft. IPC-4903 August August 2010

Transcription

1 IPC-4903 A Guideline for Defining "Low- Halogen" Electronic Products Working Draft August 2010 IPC-4903 August Lakeside Drive Bannockburn, IL Tel: Fax:

2 Table of Contents 1 SCOPE Purpose REFERENCE DOCUMENTS IPC JEDEC JPCA JEITA IEC ISO TERMS AND DEFINITIONS WHERE BROMINE AND CHLORINE ARE USED IN ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS DEFINITION OF MAXIMUM BROMINE AND CHLORINE IN BASE MATERIALS COMPLIANCE PROCESS FOR COMPONENTS DEEMED TO BE LOW-HALOGEN MARKING AND LABELING FOR LOW-HALOGEN ELECTRONICS Marking of Components/Sockets/Connectors/Cables Marking of Printed Boards Marking of Mechanical Plastics... 5 iv

3 Definition of Low Halogen Electronic Products Foreword Low-halogen electronic equipment is currently not well defined, nor is it mandated as a requirement by any legislation worldwide at the time of this publication. Through the IPC White Paper and Technical Report on the Use of Halogenated Flame Retardants in Printed Circuit Boards and Assemblies, IPC-WP/TR-584A, IPC concludes that the halogenated flame retardants currently used in printed boards pose no significant environmental or health hazard. IPC does not advocate conversion from any known safe method of generating flame resistance for base or other electronic assembly materials. Nevertheless, to ensure a uniform and consistent understanding throughout the industry of the meaning of low-halogen electronic equipment, materials and systems, this term needs to be clearly defined. Should one choose to implement a low-halogen technology, this guideline can be utilized to identify industry-accepted definitions and targeted materials and systems requirements. Certain companies have begun to market low-halogen materials and components in selected electronic product offerings. While it is recognized that the halogen group contains fluorine, chlorine, bromine, iodine, and astatine, we will use the term low-halogen to refer only to bromine and chlorine to be consistent with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and IPC definitions of halogen-free (Section 2.0). In this document, the term low-halogen is used to identify a material that contains low concentrations of bromine and chlorine. Two classes of low-halogen are defined in this document. 1 SCOPE This guideline provides terms and definitions for low-halogen electronic equipment, identifies potential parts and systems and recommends methods for marking and labeling. While the halogen group contains fluorine (F), chlorine (Cl), bromine (Br), iodine (I), and astatine (At), this guideline will use the term low-halogen to refer only to Br and Cl. The definition of low-halogen is different from the term halogen-free as described in IPC-4101, the IEC sectional standards related to nonhalogenated base material, and the J-STD-609 Marking and Labeling Standard; standards currently in use in the electronics industry. This document defines two classes of low-halogen, not including metals or ceramics. Class A can be used if the user wants to make a low-halogen declaration that applies to Br and Cl when used as Brominated Flame Retardants (BFRs), Chlorinated Flame Retardants (CFRs) and Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) within the components of electronic equipment. Class B can be used if the user wants to make a low-halogen declaration concerning each applicable homogeneous material within a piece of electronic equipment, regardless of the source of the Br and Cl. These requirements would apply to materials and parts of low halogen electronic equipment including, but not limited to: (1) Plastic in construction of various plastic components (substrate, mold compounds, solder masks, underfill materials, etc). (2) Printed board assemblies (PBAs) including components. (3) Plastic in cables, connectors, sockets, and external wiring. (4) Mechanical plastics (enclosures, fans, etc.). (5) Films, tapes, and adhesives. (6) Soldering flux residues (when present). BFR, CFR and PVC in materials that may be used during processing, product delivery systems, or packaging, but do not remain within the final product are not included in the scope of this definition. 1

4 1.1 Purpose The purpose of this proposed standard is to establish an industry guideline for the definition and specific threshold limits associated with low-halogen electronics, including electronic components, electronic assemblies, cables and mechanical plastics. 2 REFERENCE DOCUMENTS 2.1 IPC 1 IPC-T-50 Terms and Definitions for Interconnecting and Packaging Electronic Circuits IPC-CC-830 Qualification and Performance of Electrical Insulating Compound for Printed Wiring Assemblies IPC-4101 Specification for Base Materials for Rigid and Multilayer Printed Boards IPC/JEDEC J-STD-609 Marking and Labeling of Components, PCBs and PCBAs to Identify Lead (Pb), Pb-free and Other Attributes IPC-TM-650 TM Test Method for Total Halogen Content in Base Materials IPC/WP/TR-584A IPC White Paper and Technical Report on the Use of Halogenated Flame Retardants in Printed Circuit Boards and Assemblies 2.2 JEDEC 2 JESD88 JEDEC Dictionary of Terms for Solid State Technology 2.3 JPCA 3 JPCA ES 01 Test Method for Halogen Free Materials 2.4 JEITA 4 MC-001 Guideline of Halogen Free Epoxy Molding Compound for Semiconductor 2.5 IEC 5 IEC Test methods for electrical materials, printed boards and other interconnection structures and assemblies IEC Materials for printed boards and other interconnecting structures sectionals: Part 2-21: Reinforced base materials, clad and unclad - Non-halogenated epoxide woven E-glass reinforced laminated sheets of defined flammability (vertical burning test), copper-clad Part 2-22: Reinforced base materials clad and unclad - Modified non-halogenated epoxide woven E- glass laminated sheets of defined flammability (vertical burning test), copper-clad Part 2-23: Reinforced base materials, clad and unclad - Non-halogenated phenolic cellulose paper reinforced laminated sheets, economic grade, copper clad Part 2-26 Reinforced base materials clad and unclad - Non-halogenated epoxide non-woven/woven E- glass reinforced laminated sheets of defined flammability (vertical burning test), copper-clad Part 4-2: Sectional specification set for prepreg materials, unclad - Multifunctional epoxide woven E- glass prepreg of defined flammability

5 Part 4-5: Sectional specification set for prepreg materials, unclad - Polyimide, modified or unmodified, woven E-glass prepreg of defined flammability Part 4-11: Sectional specification set for prepreg materials, unclad - Non-halogenated epoxide, woven E-glass prepreg of defined flammability Part 4-12: Sectional specification set for prepreg materials, unclad - Non-halogenated multifunctional epoxide woven E-glass prepreg of defined flammability 2.6 ISO 6 ISO 11469:2000 Plastics Generic identification and marking of plastics products ISO :1998 Plastics -- Symbols and abbreviated terms -- Part 4: Flame retardants 3 TERMS AND DEFINITIONS Other than those terms listed below, the definitions of terms used in this guideline are in accordance with IPC-T-50 and/or JESD Brominated/Chlorinated Flame Retardants Flame retardants that contain bromine and/or chlorine. These elements are typically added to or reacted into the polymer to reduce the flammability of components such as certain epoxy resins and thermoplastics. Examples include, but are not limited to, tetrabromobisphenol-a (TBBPA), brominated epoxy resins and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). 3.2 Plastic A plastic is defined as any of a group of synthetic or natural organic compounds produced by polymerization, optionally combined with additives (organic or inorganic fillers, modifiers, etc) into a homogeneous material capable of being molded, extruded, or cast into various shapes and films. 3.3 Threshold Limit Threshold limit applies as a maximum concentration at which a restricted substance can be present. 3.4 Not Detectable Not detectable means that a substance in a part or homogeneous material is not detected at the lowest detectable limit using standard analytical techniques. 4 WHERE BROMINE AND CHLORINE ARE USED IN ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) and, less frequently, chlorinated flame retardants (CFRs) are added to thermoplastics, insulation materials, component mold compounds, substrates, printed board laminates, and other plastic materials to achieve a desired flame retardancy (e.g. UL 94 V-0). In addition, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is commonly used as the base resin for certain cable jacketing and vibration dampening materials. See Table

6 Table 4-1 General Presence of Bromine and Chlorine in BFRs, CFRs and PVC in Electronics Part Type Mechanical Plastic Parts (thermoplastics) Cables Printed Boards, Rigid and Flexible Electronic Components Connectors Films, Adhesives, Tapes Vibration dampening parts Examples BFRs/CFRs used in certain flame retardants ABS, HIPS, PC, PS, Polyimide (PI), polyamide (PA) and PBT resins. BFRs used in cable/wire insulation material. PVC used in cable/wire jacketing and overmold. BFRs added or reacted into FR-4, other epoxy resins, polyamide, and adhesives. BFRs added or reacted into FR-4 and other epoxy resins, mold compounds, plastic packages, thermal interface materials, die attach, substrates and underfills. BFRs used in certain flame-rated PBT and PA resins. PVC used in certain magnetic tapes. PVC used in shock absorbing or vibration dampening resins. Other materials may contain bromine or chlorine that are not used as flame retardants such as adhesives and pigments. Chlorine may also be present in epoxies as residual chlorine from the polymerization reactions. 5 DEFINITION OF MAXIMUM BROMINE AND CHLORINE IN BASE MATERIALS The halogens fluorine (F), iodine (I), and astatine (At) are not covered by this guideline. Bromine (Br) and chlorine (Cl) refer to all oxidation states of these elements. Bromine (Br) and chlorine (Cl) in materials that may be used during processing but do not remain within the final product are not included in this definition. Low-Halogen Definitions: Class A An electronic product must meet all of the following requirements to be defined as Low-Halogen Class A : 1) All printed board and substrate laminates shall meet Br and Cl requirements for low-halogen as defined in IPC Printed board and substrate laminates do not include the solder mask. Solder mask is considered a plastic material (Section 2 below). 2) For components other than printed board and substrate laminates, the plastic within the component contains <1000 ppm (0.1%) of Bromine [if the Bromine source is from BFRs] and <1000 ppm (0.1%) of Chlorine [if the Chlorine source is from CFRs, PVC or PVC copolymers]. Higher concentrations of Br and Cl are allowed in plastics of components other than printed board and substrate laminates as long as their sources are not BFRs, CFRs, PVC or PVC congeners. 3) Although the elemental analysis for Br and Cl can be performed by any analytical method with sufficient sensitivity and selectivity, the presence or absence of BFRs, CFRs, PVC and PVC copolymers must be verified by any acceptable analytical techniques and/or material declaration that allow for the unequivocal identification of the specific Br or Cl compounds, or by appropriate material declarations agreed to between customer and supplier. Class B An electronic product must meet all of the following requirements to be defined as Low-Halogen Class B : 1) All applicable homogeneous materials in the component shall meet Br and Cl requirements for low-halogen as defined in IPC

7 6 COMPLIANCE PROCESS FOR COMPONENTS DEEMED TO BE LOW-HALOGEN An electronic product contains many components from a complex and global supply chain. Therefore all individual entities or suppliers within the chain must take responsibility for ensuring that the component that is leaving their dock meets their respective customer s specifications. A component that is declared to be Low-Halogen per Section 5 herein must be supported by proof that substantiates the claim. Since there is not a single, simple, cost effective and reliable test method that covers the spectrum of components included in electronic products, customers and suppliers have to mutually agree upon industry acceptable best practices by component or market segment compliance test protocol. The proof of compliance documents may include materials declarations, datasheets or analytical data. Each supplier/ individual entity within the supply chain is only responsible to prove compliance to their respective customer. Therefore disputes regarding non-compliance revert back to the agreed upon customer supply contract. Individual entities are responsible for providing proof of compliance for what is coming off their docks. This will ensure quality systems are in place to ensure that incoming raw materials are within agreed upon specification and tolerance limits. Only with mutual cooperation and transparency between customers and suppliers across the supply chain can an electronic product hit the marketplace and be Low-Halogen as described herein. 7 MARKING AND LABELING FOR LOW-HALOGEN ELECTRONICS 7.1 Marking of Components/Sockets/Connectors/Cables Marking is not required on components/sockets/connectors/cables. As an alternative, a part numbering scheme may be used to denote low-halogen parts. 7.2 Marking of Printed Boards If all materials used in the fabrication of a finished printed board meet the requirements in Section 5 and if marking is required, the marking shall be in accordance with J-STD Marking of Mechanical Plastics Mechanical plastic parts may be marked/labeled in accordance with ISO 11469:2000. Compositions containing flame retardants may be marked per ISO : Testing for BFRs, CFRs and PVC The cheapest and quickest method for BFRs, CFRs and PVC testing is at the elemental Bromine and Chlorine level using tests such as is defined in BS EN 14582:2007, IC or ASTM D (Combustion Ion Chromatography). There are go / no-go test methods such as X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) to help indicate if there is any Br or Cl in the test sample, but quantitative testing must be done to verify threshold values. These tests results can be used to verify if Cl or Br is contained but do not verify if it is a BFR, CFR or PVC. Analysis methods are being developed for BFR/CFR/PVC types of testing but are not publicly released to date. Until these types of test methods are released, for threshold reported above the maximum concentration value, they should be confirmed as to their source through the supply chain. If not BFR, CFR or PVC based, justification must be provided for this source. For values below the maximum thresholds, no further action is required.. If a component or material set is not of theoretical homogeneous material, the sample should be homogenized per IEC Work needs to continue in the test methods and verification process to help the industry understand the methods and tools currently available and their accuracy to complete the due diligence portion of low halogen products. 5