• What is Clare's Lead-Free/RoHS (Restrictions on Hazardous Substances) Commitment?
• Are all of Clare's products Lead-Free/RoHS compliant? How about Cybergate DAA modules and Teltone products?
• What will be the composition of the lead-free plating material used on the leads?
• Is this plating material compatible with non-lead-free PCB assembly materials and processes?
• How will the customer know when they are receiving lead-free products - can they be differentiated by part number / lot code / date code or is an identifier used?
• Will all products transition to lead-free materials at the same time?
• Is there a possibility of receiving both standard and lead-free products within a given order or shipment?
• Is there a cut-off date after which the customer is ensured that they can only receive lead-free product? Will that date differ by product type?
• Is there any expected cost adder for lead-free products?
• Should the customer expect any differences in performance or reliability?
• Will Clare supply qualification and/or process data prior to the change?
• Will Clare make recommendations for the PCB assembly process (or supply a recommended solder profile for lead-free assembly)?
• Will the change to lead-free plating require obsolescence of any devices.
• Are there disadvantages in using lead-free devices?
• Matte pure tin has been shown to be susceptible to "whisker growth." Will there be any study conducted on whisker growth, and what controls are in place to monitor the process to prevent whisker growth?
• Can samples of lead-free products be obtained? When? How?
• Who should the customer contact with additional lead-free questions or for information?
• Is the lead-free material compatible with other lead-free materials (such as Sn/Ag, Sn/Ag/Cu, etc.) for PCB assembly and processes?
• Are Clare's products totally lead-free?
• Will there be any changes in storage conditions or moisture sensitivity ratings for Clare products?

Clare will employ pure matte Sn (tin) for the plating material for all of it's parts.

Is this plating material compatible with non-lead-free PCB assembly materials and processes?

Pure matte tin is compatible with all current leaded solder assembly processes and all lead-free solder alloys and processes.

Clare provided transition kit codes for each manufacturing site on its web site. Since kit codes are sequentially assigned, any kit number that has a higher number than the transition kit code is lead-free. The transition kit codes are available at www.clare.com in the "Lead-Free Data" section of the website.

The Tone products are identifiable by the identification mark, lead-free special markings, date code, and/or green label on the shipping packaging depending on the part type. In the near future, these parts will be outlined in the Lead-Free Tone Parts identification table, which is currently under development.

Yes, all products (with the exception of CYBERGATE DAA & EMM modules and Tone Signaling Products as mentioned) were transferred to a lead-free process during the same month, November, 2004.

No Clare is not running the Lead-Free and Leaded processes simultaneously. The leaded process was transitioned with the Lead-Free process and Clare will not go back to the Leaded process. Also, the leaded parts inventory is depleted and no longer available for almost all of the parts.

However, CYBERGATE DAA and EMM module board-level products are not Lead-Free/RoHS compliant yet. So these CYBERGATE DAA and EMM module board-level parts still can be ordered as leaded. Also, many of the Tone Signaling parts are not Lead-Free/RoHS compliant and are thus available only in leaded versions at the moment.

At this point, most of Clare's parts are Lead-Free/RoHS compliant and so Clare is shipping only lead-free versions. Again, CYBERGATE DAA and EMM modules and many of the Tone Signaling products are still leaded. So, customers are ensured at this point that they are receiving only lead-free parts with the exception of CYBERGATE DAA and EMM modules and Tone Signaling products.

Clare does not expect an increase in the cost of our products due to the change to a lead-free plating material. However, because maintaining moisture sensitivity ratings might occasion additional costs in materials and processing, and because lead-free materials themselves can fluctuate in cost, Clare reserves the right to make necessary pricing adjustments.

There are no changes in electrical performance, or reliability, or moisture sensitivity level of Clare's products due to the change to lead-free plating.

Lead-Free qualification data are available at www.clare.com in the "Qualification Results" section of the "Lead-Free Data" section.

Clare has evaluated various products along with PCB assembly processes with higher soldering temperatures for Lead-Free assembly. The high-temperature lead-free profile used to evaluate the components and PCB was based on the recommended IPC/JEDEC J-STD-020C reflow guidelines. The reflow profile is available at www.clare.com: see "Soldering Profile" in the "Lead-Free Data" section.

Clare continually reviews its product lines to ensure that active products are maintained. There are occasions where limited sales may be the cause for obsoletion. Lead-Free processing will not directly cause the obsoletion of any Clare part numbers, but may prompt a review of the sales history of each part to ensure that there are active sales.

Other than the need for customers to use higher solder reflow temperatures, Clare sees no disadvantage to the use of leadfree components.

Clare recognized the whisker growth concern with pure tin and included studies for whisker growth as part of the qualification process. Lead-Free whisker study data are available at www.clare.com: see "Qualification Results" in the "Lead-Free Data" section.

Samples of leadfree products are currently available in all packages and part numbers. Please contact your local representative to request samples or utilize the Clare website to enter a sample order. Orders on the website must be entered manually with the part number followed by "leadfree" (do not use the pulldown list).

For further technical inquiries and information, please contact Clare's Senior Quality and Reliability Engineer: Selim Ahmed (sahmed@clare .com). Please send inquiries via e-mail only.

Pure matte tin is compatible with all common leadfree solder alloys.

All Clare products, except as noted, are completely leadfree (according to the RoHS definition) with the exception of several power relay products that employ the use of soft solder die attach within the package. The RoHS Directive allows for use of leaded solder for die attach purposes within an enclosed molded assembly, thus Clare will be fully compliant with the Directive.

As mentioned in other FAQ answers, many of the Teltone products and the CYBERGATE DAA & EMM module products are not lead-free.

Clare's Lead-Free/RoHS qualification did no identlfy moisture sensitivity rating changes for any of the products. So, the storage conditions and moisture sensitivity ratings are unchanged.