Indium Blog

Selecting the Appropriate Halogen-Free Solder Paste for SMT Assembly

Phil Zarrow: This video is for anyone considering halogen-free solder paste. It includes recommendations for paste selection based on customer needs.
 
Brook, Indium Corporation has a wide variety of halogen-free solder paste. How would you choose between them?
 
Brook Sandy: I would say, for most assemblies, I would choose Indium8.9HF, because it's such a versatile solder paste. For most of your assemblies, this will work very well. It has a good oxidation barrier, it has good wetting, very electrochemically reliable, good SIR performance, and it's available in lead-free alloys, as well as tin lead alloys. For backwards compatibility, it's really ideal.
 
Phil Zarrow: 8.9HF would be general purpose. What about for specific application needs?
 
Brook Sandy: For more specific attributes or features that you are looking for, such as in circuit testing, pro testable flux residue, or specifically low voiding, or for something where you need to print very small apertures at high speeds, there might be other options or modifications of the 8.9HF that will be more suited to your needs. If you'd like more details on the other halogen-free formulations available from Indium Corporation, you can go to the halogen-free page, and we have a nice chart there that breaks down the real strong points of each of the fluxes, so you can choose what matters to you. If you're still having trouble deciding, you can just email me directly at bsandy@indium.com, and I can help you walk through what your needs are and help you choose the best halogen-free paste for your needs.
 
Phil Zarrow: Brook, thank you very much.
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