Nov 24, 2009 
Though industry consortia have set some competing standards as to the acceptable levels of halogen, the common benchmark is up to 900 ppm bromine, 900 ppm chlorine and maximum total halogens of 1500 ppm. Henkel, however, has developed a material that has zero deliberately added halogens, yet has the excellent reflow and stability characteristics normally associated with halogen-containing materials.
“Multicore HF108 has no intentionally added halogen and is under the limit of detection in the rigorous oxygen bomb/ion chromatography test,” says Steve Dowds, Henkel Global Product Manager for Solders. “Taking out the halogen is easy -- the difficult part is how to replace it.”
Dowds goes on to explain, “Covalently bonded halogen confers tremendous benefits in terms of open time on the printer, thermal stability, reflow process window and shelf-life. Currently, a common solution in the industry for compliance with the standard is to use relatively small amounts of halogen which will put the formulation just under the 900ppm limit, combined with other activators. While this is a valid approach, there is always the danger of excessive halogenated material being added during manufacturing. Henkel has eliminated that risk. Thanks to an extensive and lengthy development program, we have made a formulating breakthrough which gives the user all the benefits normally associated with halogenated materials in a truly halogen-free product”
The lack of intentionally added halogens is, however, only one of the many benefits of Multicore HF108. The lead-free, halogen-free material also has excellent high-speed print capability, a long and stable shelf-life of up to six months when refrigerated or four weeks at room temperature and a wide process window. Performance is robust and comparable to other Henkel market-leading lead-free formulations, but without any added halogens.
“Our development team took a thoughtful, analytical approach to the formulation of Multicore HF108,” concludes Dowds. “We believe Henkel is the first to introduce a zero-halogen material which has a performance comparable with halogenated materials and are confident this product is the best and most stable commercially available halogen-free paste for modern, high-speed printing operations.”
For more information on Multicore HF108 or any of Henkel’s advanced Multicore solder products, call 949-789-2500 or log onto http://www.henkel.com/electronics.
Except as otherwise noted, all marks used herewith are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Henkel and/or its affiliates in the US and elsewhere.
About Henkel
Henkel has been committed to making people's lives easier, better and more beautiful for more than 130 years. A Fortune Global 500 and Germany's most admired company according to a recent Fortune survey, Henkel offers strong brands and technologies in three areas of competence: Home Care, Personal Care and Adhesive Technologies. Each day, more than 52,000 employees in
125 countries are dedicated to fulfilling Henkel's claim "A Brand like a Friend.” In fiscal 2008, Henkel generated sales of 14,131 million euros and adjusted operating profit of 1,460 million euros.
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