| Home | RoHS | WEEE | ELV | Contact Us |
Print This PageMaterial Composition Testing
RoHS-International offer a comprehensive materials testing service from entry level for the smaller SMEs through to advanced testing through one of our accredited service providers.
We are able to advise on testing strategies tailored to the guidance given by the RoHS Enforcement Authorities Informal Network as well as taking into account the level of testing needed to demonstrate due diligence - which changes according to the size of the company. We also track the RoHS exemptions and are able to advise testing and interpret results in the context of RoHS compliance.
Product level testing Yes - we can perform a limited amount of testing at product level. We can test for Lead in Solders on populated PCAs using a wet chemistry technique. For most companies the highest risk is still non lead-free components. We can test, very cost effectively for this on populated PCAs. This is a very effective screening/QA technique. It is ideal for OEMs who want to perform a check on their EMS/CEM and also for OEMs who want that extra level of certainty that their product is compliant.
At a recent trade show we challenged all the OEMs present who were advertising RoHS compliant product to have a PCA tested, in public on our stand for lead in solders. No-one took up the challenge. Several have since had their products tested behind closed doors.
We do not recommend this as a primary compliance strategy.
Please email material-testing@rohs-international.com for a quote.
Entry Level Entry level testing is "self service" with a company purchasing the easy to use "LeadCheck" lead testing kits. These are ideal for the smaller company and can give a test cost of $6.25 per component for checking if a component is lead (Pb) free or not. These are absolutely ideal for inwards goods inspection, we have tested the kits and supply our own instructions with them which will avoid inconsistant results. These are invaluable if you are purchasing from the "RoHS Compliant Grey Market". These kits are within the reach of any company, and would be a minimum level of testing that the Enforcement Authorities would be looking for - which is why we stock these kits. Our webpage LeadCheck Test Kits has more details.
Intermediate level Independent testing by RoHS-International is the next option. Although not accredited, as an external party we demonstrate impartiality. We are able to test for Lead in Solders (including component leads) and for Hexavalent Chromium either on your site or at our laboratory.
Prices are as per the table below.
This testing is ideal for electronic components to verify if they are indeed lead-free and for testing metalwork to verify if they have been chromated or not. Lead on the external connection of electronic components (secondary level interconnect) and the use of Chromate on metal are the two highest risks for non compliance for any company. The cost per test is as low as $40 per component, a 1/4 of a lab based XRF test. The testing does not work on plastics.
The Bronze service is testing for lead (Pb) and Hexavalent Chromium (where appropriate) with results tabulated as a yes/no against each unique identifier, generally the manufacturers part number. The end report is a table.
The Silver service is testing for lead (Pb) and Hexavalent Chromium (where appropriate) with the component and the result phographically documented. The Silver service will meet the requirements of due diligence for SMEs and smaller contract manufacturers for most electronic COTS items and unpainted metalwork. The end report is a table with photographs.
The Gold service is customised to meet individual demands and may include qualitative and/or quantitative lab testing. This is generally needed for plastics and paints.
High Level We have agreements in place with test labs in Australia, USA and the EU for accredited testing in accordance with IEC 111/54/CDV. Please email material-testing@rohs-international.com for a quote.
Advanced RoHS and WEEE Specialists also offer a
For those interested in the testing methods, an explanation of testing abbreviations and in the progress of PR62321 please see below.
Material testing abbreviations
CVAAS Cold Vapour Atomic Absorption Spectrometry ED-SEM Energy Dispersive Scanning Electron Microscope ED-XRF Energy Dispersive X Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry GC/MS Gas Chromotography Mass Spectrometry HPLC/UV High Pressure Liquid Chromatography - Ultraviolet Detection ICP-MS Inductively Coupled Plasma - Mass Spectrometry ICP-AES Inductively Coupled Plasma - Atomic Emission Spectrometry ICP-AAS Inductively Coupled Plasma - Atomic Absorbtion Spectrometry WD-XRF Wavelength DispersiveX Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry XRF X Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry Test Methods - Overviews What is CV-AAS? Cold Vapour Atomic Absorbtion Spectrometry
CV-AAS is the normal method for detection of Mercury
The analytical method used most frequently for the determination of mercury in solutions is cold-vapour atomic absorption spectrometry (CV-AAS). This method separates mercury from the solution by reducing the dissolved cation to the gaseous element. The mercury vapour generated is measured in a glass cell by specific radiation absorption. The method's advantages - relative freedom from interference, and good detection limits - are compromised by its downsides - limited detection sensitivity to concentrations smaller than 10 ng/l, and a limited dynamic range of about three decades.
------------------------------------------------------
What is ED SEM?
Energy Dispersive Scanning Electron Microscope
Chemical analysis in Ed-SEM is performed using energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). EDS measures the energy and intensity distribution of X-ray signals generated by the electron beam striking the surface of the specimen. The elemental composition at a point, along a line, or in a defined area can be easily determined to a high degree of precision (~0.1 wt.%). EDS is usually a bolt on analyser for a scanning electron microscope.
-------------------------------------------------
What is GC/MS?
Gas Chromatography/ Mass Spectrometry
GC/MS is the main analytical technique for PBB and PBDE. These substances are organic compounds, whereas the other 4 RoHS banned substances are metals.
The GC-MS is composed of two major building blocks: the gas chromatograph and the mass spectrometer. The GC works on the principle that a mixture will separate into individual substances when heated. The heated gases are carried through a column with an inert gas (such as helium). The molecules take different amounts of time (called the retention time) to come out of the gas chromatograph, and this allows the mass spectrometer downstream to evaluate the molecules separately in order to identify them. As the separated substances emerge from the column opening, they flow into the MS. The mass spectrometer breaks up constituents into molecular ions and other fragments, which then pass through an electric and/or magnetic field that separates them according to their mass-to-charge ratio. Thus, the GC separates the components within a compound while the MS identifies these components.
-------------------------------------------
What is HPLC?
High Pressure Liquid Chromatography. Similar to Gas Chromatography but with the sample in a liquid form.
-------------------------------------------
What is ICP-MS?
Inductively Coupled Plasma - Mass Spectrometry.
ICP-MS and AES are the main analytical techniques for lead and cadmium and mercury. ICP-MS will also show the valency of Chromium making it suitable for quantitative analysis for Hexavalent Chromium but is more expensive to perform that ICP AES.
In simple terms, mass spectrometry is a method for identifying atoms or molecules by the mass and charge of their constituent ions. ICP-MS instruments use a more complex version of this same principle by using plasma to create ions, or charged atoms, then separating them by mass using an electromagnet (the HR-ICP-MS) or an octopole and quadrupole (the octopole reaction cell ICP-MS). In both techniques, the sample is placed in the instrument and is transformed into an aerosol by a nebuliser, much like the aerator on a kitchen faucet. The aerosol is heated to 8000°C by argon plasma, in which it is vaporized, molecular bonds are broken and the resulting atoms are ionized. In the HR-ICP-MS, the ions pass through a mass spectrometer in which a magnetic field bends their paths by varying amounts, depending on their mass. The pattern created by the magnetic field is called a mass spectrum. The octopole reaction cell ICP-MS uses an octopole, a set of eight metal poles that bend the ion beam directing only the sample ions toward the mass spectrometer. This process reduces interference from other ions that could contaminate the data. The ions then pass into the mass spectrometer in which a quadrupole, a set of four molybdenum poles, separates the ions based on their mass-to-charge ratio creating a mass spectrum. In both instruments, the mass of the ions can be determined by their position in the mass spectrum — they appear as peaks on a computer screen. Each element's ions have a unique pattern different from another element's pattern. This enables scientists to identify the elements and isotopes present in a sample. Acknowledgement to Dartmouth College for the above explanation ----------------------------------------------------
What is ICP-AES?
Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometry.
Please see ICP-MS for an overview of ICP
ICP AES is the main analytical technique for lead and cadmium and mercury. ICP-MS will also show the valency of Chromium making it suitable for quantitative analysis for Hexavalent Chromium.
ICP-AES is an emission spectrophotometric technique, exploiting the fact that excited electrons emit energy at a given wavelength as they return to ground state. The fundamental characteristic of this process is that each element emits energy at specific wavelengths peculiar to its chemical character. Although each element emits energy at multiple wavelengths, in the ICP-AES technique it is most common to select a single wavelength (or a very few) for a given element. The intensity of the energy emitted at the chosen wavelength is proportional to the amount (concentration) of that element in the analyzed sample. Thus, by determining which wavelengths are emitted by a sample and by determining their intensities, the analyst can quantify the elemental composition of the given sample relative to a reference standard.
----------------------------------------------------
What is ICP-AAS?
Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Absorbtion Spectrometry
AAS works by beaming light of a set frequency through a gas flame (acetylene-oxygen, or acetylene-nitrous oxide) into which an aqueous solution of the sample has been vaporized. In this case (similarly to XRF), the orbital electrons in the flame plasma, absorb certain quanta of light from the beam in order to jump up to higher energy levels. But in the reverse to AES, a detector opposite the light source measures the intensity of the loss of a particular frequency and the elemental (or oxide composition) computed in relation to a set of known standards.
Acknowledgement to Michael Banks and Stuart Altmann for the above explanation
-----------------------------------------------
What is XRF?
This is a surface only test method and is a screening test. It only shows total element composition and as such will only show the presence of total Chromium and not the valency. Similarly it will show only total Bromine and not what brominated diphenyl ether is present. This will require analysis by GC/MS. XRF however is good technique doe differentiating between lead (Pb) free and non lead (Pb) free stock of electronic components. The equipment is normally a chamber but is also available in hand held barcode style scanners. The scanners have some health and safety considerations as they emit a stream of X-Ray. Some countries require special licences to operate them.
XRF works by beaming x-rays onto the sample, which excites some of the electrons orbiting the atomic nuclei (inside the atoms of the elements present), to jump to higher energy orbitals. The empty space in the respective orbital shell is replaced by another electron dropping down from a higher energy level. The electron emits an x-ray photon in order to drop to the lower energy level. This process of atoms emitting secondary x-rays in response to excitation by a primary x-ray source is called x-ray fluorescence. The secondary x-ray photons are emitted by the atoms of the elements in the sample in characteristic discrete frequency peaks, their fingerprint line spectra.
The elements in the sample can therefore be identified by their spectral wavelengths for qualitative analysis and the intensity of the emitted spectral lines enables quantitative analysis. This is accomplished by directing the secondary (fluorescence) radiation from the sample into a narrow beam by slit collimator and onto a crystal plate. The crystal is commonly lithium fluoride. The various wavelengths in the beam are diffracted by the crystal lattice atoms in the plate off at various angles proportional to their frequency (analogous to white light passing through a prism). A radiation detector is rotated by degrees around an accurate track (goniometer) and the individual frequencies and their intensities thus measured. The on-board computer then reduces this data to elemental or oxide concentration figures.
Acknowledgement to Michael Banks and Stuart Altmann for the above explanation
-------------------------------------------------
IEC 111/24/CD IEC111/54/CDV or PR62321
The start of project PR63321 was by the IEC Advisory Committee on Environmental Aspects (ACEA) in December 2004. This work was transferred to Technical Committee (TC) 111 which held its first meeting in Milan in March 2005. Technical Committee 111 has 20 participating countries and 6 Observer countries. The project has 3 separate areas each with its own working group.
WG1- Material Declaration working with JIG, IPC1752 and JGPSSI format
WG2 - Environmentally conscious design
WG3 - Analytical testing for RoHS Compliance working with the Analytical testing section of IPC1065
TC111 met in Milan in March as noted above and met for the second time in Cape Town in October 2005. The next meeting is planned for June 19th 2006 in the USA.
An updated draft for Committe vote was released in March 2006 under the title 111/54/CDV. This document is not yet in the public domain.
WG3 met for the first time in Paris may 2005 and again in Capetown in October 2005. Future meetings are planned for February 2006 in Germany and again in September 2006.
TC111 released a policy statement in November 2005 that details the purpose of the TC and the member countries.
The members of Working Group 3 (Analytical testing for RoHS compliance) are: Members:
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
All Website Content © RoHS and WEEE Specialists Ltd 2008. All rights reserved. Web Design and Search Engine Optimization by IBDG |
PCB XRF mapping service. The ideal way to validate your compliance infrastructure. This scans the entire PCB and produces a report on the presence of any of the banned substances at elemental level. Very good value for money. Follow this link for a 
Agilent GC/MS 6890N