84063 Datasheet, PDF (1/5 Pages) Vishay Siliconix – The Constituents of Semiconductor Components

VISHAY
Vishay Semiconductors
The Constituents of Semiconductor Components
Responsible electronic component and equipment
manufacturers are already preparing for the time
when the lifespan of their products comes to an end
by scrutinizing the materials incorporated and their
future recyclability. Recycling laws have already
come into force in Germany ("Kreislauf-Wirtschafts-
gesetz") and guidelines for electronic scrap are in
preparation.
The aim is a suitable waste disposal program and, as
a preventative measure, a reduction in the content of
hazardous damaging materials in such components.
In order to conform to this procedure, detailed infor-
mation about the materials and their quantities is
needed.
This present overview answers questions put forward
by customers as to the constituents and their function
in the most important of Vishay Semiconductors'
semiconductor products. Special significance is given
to so-called "Hazardous Substances". It demon-
strates that Vishay Semiconductors’ products under
normal operating conditions do not expose the applier
or environment to any hazard. However, most prod-
ucts nevertheless contain small but necessary quan-
tities of "Hazardous Substances" which can, if not
treated correctly or through accidents, be released on
a small scale into the environment.
The present information was produced with the great-
est possible care. Any suggestions for improvement
of this brochure are welcome.
Definitions
Vishay Semiconductors offers a wide range of semi-
conductor components including transistors, diodes
and opto-electronic components. These have been
manufactured in various standard packages.
On the following pages, these packages are listed
together with their materials shown in weight percent-
ages. In order to limit the number of tables, all compo-
nents whose structure and composition are the same
have been compiled in families. In many cases, differ-
ent lead frames together with chips of different sizes
may be used for the one package. This usually means
that there may be slight differences in the quantities
of the declared material. The weight percent is, how-
ever, valid for a representative sample of the relevant
family. In order to sensibly reduce the number and
quantities of materials contained in the respective
components, quantities smaller than 0.1% by weight
have been stated in the following list as traces. This
is the case unless lower limits are forced by law, e.g.
cadmium < 75 ppm and PCDD as well as PCDF
(known as dioxin) < 2 ppb. In the lists themselves,
details of content and composition are separated into
the individual parts of the semiconductor component.
The most important of these are:
Active element: The active element is either a silicon
chip or, for optoelectronic components, a chip con-
taining combinations of Ga (Al) (As, P). These are
doped with very small amounts of boron, arsenic,
phosphorus, zinc and germanium etc. The metallisa-
tion consists of thin layers of aluminium, gold or tita-
nium. The chips are generally bonded to the lead
frame with a silver epoxy and have gold or aluminium
wires bonded to the lead frame.
Lead frame: For electrical connection, a metal lead
frame made from alloys such as FeNi (42) or CuFe (2)
and partly or totally plated with silver is commonly
used. The metal alloys contain traces of silver, zinc
and phosphorus. Part of the lead frame is also coated
with tin/ lead.
Case: The semiconductor chip is protected from the
environment by a case of glass, plastic or metal.
The glass is composed of oxides of silicon and lead
together with boron and aluminium.
Plastic cases are composed of an epoxy resin filled
with up to 70% by weight of quartz particles. Antimony
trioxide and brominated epoxy resin (no TBA) are
added as flame retardents. Antimony and bromine
amount to about 1.6 and 1.0% respectively.
In use: In use, it is the content of hazardous sub-
stances which is of importance. In Germany, there are
a number of lists which give the materials which are
potentially hazardous to people and the environment,
for example:
Appendix II and IV of the "Hazardous Materials Reg-
ulations", the TRGS 900 ("MAK-Wert-Liste") and the
"Catalog of Materials Hazardous to the Water Sup-
ply". These lists, however, are only partially consis-
tent.
The names used are often different for materials with
the same chemical composition. Furthermore, the
use of trivial and trade names often adds to the con-
fusion.
Therefore, Vishay Semiconductors use for their
descriptions that proposed by the Zentralverband Ele-
ktrotechnik und Elektronikindustrie e.V. (ZVEI; Cen-
tral Association of Electrical Engineering and
Electronic Industry) for the harmonization of the
nomenclature of hazardous substances.
Document Number 84063
Rev. 7, 07-Jan-03
www.vishay.com
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