Preface

Excerpt

Due to the popularity of the subject of lead-free electronic solders within the past decade, the number of researchers active in this field has increased phenomenally, and the publications resulting from their studies have exploded. These publications appear in more than 20 different scientific journals and several more technical publications. As a consequence it has become impossible to keep track of current status of understanding of a given issue. Many publications in reviewed scientific journals are written by persons active in different academic disciplines, such as material science, physics, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, etc. Similarly, publications from industrial counterparts often times do not indicate an awareness of the academic research contributions in the area. Hence it becomes necessary to provide a comprehensive and interdisciplinary account of the current status of various issues relevant to lead-free electronic solders. This special issue of Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics contains 23 articles written by recognized authorities in the field. …