HOTSOL - High Operating Temperature Solder 

with Zero Lead.

As concerns of the environmental impact of lead waste increase, the electronics industry is coming under increasing pressure to reduce or eliminate the use of lead in their manufacturing processes. However, lead remains a key component of tin-lead solders used in electronics.

The forthcoming European Union ban on the use of lead will probably be implemented in 2006.  It has generated worldwide effort in the development and implemen-tation of lead-free solders. Companies in Japan and the Far East are already realising the commercial benefits of offering what their customers see as more environmentally friendly products 

Several alternatives to lead have been identified and evaluated. For most mainstream applications, tin/silver/copper will probably be the first choice. Because of the higher melting point, there are implications in PCB manufacturing, assembly and testing process though overall most of the technical issues have now been resolved.

However, currently there is no available alternative to lead free solders for high temperature soldering applications. High temperature solders are required for a number of applications: 

• Within components such as resistor ladders

• For high temperature electronic applications

• For cascade soldering applications.

The irony is that high temperature solders contain very much more lead than normal tin lead solders.

However tCORE has demonstrated an alternative high temperature lead-free solder called HOTSOL, High Operating Temperature Solder with Zero Lead. The demonstration of this product has been the subject of a Smart Award and it is currently being evaluated in a pan-European project.

We are seeking partners to assist us in the further development of this exciting product. If you are potentially interested and would like to find out more, then please contact us