Atheros Lead-Free Products FAQ

What hazardous substances are restricted by EU RoHS?
RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) is defined in EU Directive 2002/95/EC, effective in July 1. 2006, the use of certain hazardous chemical substances is prohibited. No new electric or electronic equipment may contain any of the following banned substances:

a) Lead (Pb)
b) Cadmium (Cd)
c) Mercury (Hg)
d) Hexavalent chromium (Cr (VI))
e) PBB (polybrominated biphenyls) and PBDE (polybrominated biphenyl ethers)

Are all Atheros products available as RoHS compliant?
Yes, all of the Atheros's packages are available in RoHS compliant versions. There are still some customers who demand for leaded products and if business conditions permit, we offer a few leaded products.

If Atheros offer leaded product, where lead is used?

For leaded products, lead is used in BGA solder balls for special SMT application. For leadframe based products, all of them are RoHS compliant which is backward compatible to a reflow temperature of 240°C or 260°C. 

How does Atheros verify raw material RoHS compliance?
To ensure RoHS compliance, Atheros maintains test reports for all of the package materials it uses. Upon request by customers, Atheros will provide material test reports and material data declaration sheet (MDDS) for each product.

Is Atheros compliant to China RoHS?
Atheros complies with China RoHS requirement; we will be monitoring the progress of China RoHS and will apply related solutions.

What is the definition of a "green" product?
There is no consistent definition for “green,” it is not defined in any international regulation we know of and is therefore subject to interpretation. Atheros therefore does not attempt to define the term “green” product

 What are Atheros’ restrictions on halogen-free?

According to the industry standard of IEC 61249-2-21, IPC 4101B and JPCA-ES-01 for halogen- free industry standard, Atheros defines a material as halogen-free if it contains less than 900 ppm of bromine and 900 ppm of chlorine, and total of these two elements are less than 1500 ppm.

Which products are covered by Atheros halogen-free transition?

All Atheros RoHS compliance WLCSP package and leadframe based packages, like QFN and LQFP are Halogen Free, and some of the BGA packages with special HF identification are Halogen-Free too.

How is Atheros complying with the REACH regulation?
Based on the current version of candidate list for authorization, all Atheros products which defined as RoHS compliance do not contain SVHC substances above 0.1 percent.

What is ISO14001? Is the environmental system certified?

ISO14001 is a voluntary international standard that establishes the requirements for an organization’s environmental management system.  Atheros is a fabless company and all products are outsourced. Atheros requires all qualified subcontractors to be certified to meet ISO 14001, as well as certified to Sony Green Partner program.

Does Atheros ban other environmentally sensitive substances?

Atheros QA department continuously reviews international law and customer environmental control requirements to meet their needs and maintains records of such reviews and specifications requirements. These activities are part of our Environmental Management policy and procedure requirement.

 

Please contact your local Atheros representative to find out more on lead-free, RoHS and Halogen free compliant products from Atheros.

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