restriction of hazardous substances (RoHS)
EU Directive 2002/95/ EC "on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment" of January 27, 2003 is known as the RoHS Directive. The RoHS Directive - RoHS stands for Restriction of Hazardous Substances - came into force in July 2006 and has had a significant impact on the manufacture of electrical and electronic equipment, as manufacturers have had to modify products and production processes to comply with the Directive. The current directive is RoHS 2011/65/EC, which succeeds RoHS 2002/95. It has been applicable since January 2013.
The RoHS Directive applies equally to electrical and electronic equipment, household appliances, communications equipment, peripherals, consumer electronics equipment, luminaires and tools. RoHS starts with printed circuit boards, components, assemblies, connectors and sockets and aims to make all previous lead-based technologies lead-free. Other pollutants such as cadmium, mercury, chromium( VI) and brominated flame retardants such as polybrominated biphenyl ( PBB) and polybrominated biphenyl ether (PBDE), which pose a health risk, may also no longer be used under the Pollutants Directive.
Since lead may no longer be used in PCB technology and assembly, the temperatures for the pure tin have increased accordingly by about 40°C in the reflow process, which is reflected in a higher temperature resistance of the components and connectors. The temperature profiles are max. 260°C, which means that some components have to be designed in more temperature-resistant materials.
According to industry standard specifications, the term "lead-free" refers to materials with a lead content of less than 0.1%.