iNEMI HFR-free program report

The electronics industry is aggressively pursuing the removal of potentially toxic compounds from their products, including the halogenated flame retardants (HFRs) that were once widely used in electronics housings and cases and are still used extensively in printed circuit boards. Several leading electronics companies have publicly stated their intent to remove brominated and/or halogenated flame retardants from some or all of their products. The International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (iNEMI), an industry-led consortium, is working with a number of its OEM and supply chain members to assess the feasibility of a broad conversion to HFR-free PCB materials. While IPC and JEDEC are developing halogen-free standard specifications and numerous companies have compliant materials, significant questions remain regarding overall readiness to make a transition to these materials. This paper will discuss results & conclusions from the completed iNEMI HFR-free PCB materials project, as well as outline current projects, which include the HFR-free high-reliability PCB project, the HFR-free signal integrity project and the HFR-free PCB material development project.