Altera offers many products in leaded and RoHS-compliant options. Figure 1 shows where the lead (Pb) is present in the leaded devices.
Figure 1. Sources of Lead (Pb)
Altera’s RoHS-compliant option replaces the lead (Pb) with the most trusted industry-standard lead alternatives to help ease the transition to RoHS-compliant devices.
Table 1 specifies the RoHS-compliant alternative substances used for different Altera® packages as well as the backwards-compatibility of the manufacturing flow.
| Table 1. RoHS-Compliant Materials in Altera Devices | ||
| Package | RoHS-Compliant Alternative Materials | Backwards-Compatible Manufacturing Flow |
|---|---|---|
| QFP/TQFP | Matte Sn | Yes |
| BGA/FBGA | SnAgCu (1) | No (2) |
| SOIC | NiPdAu | Yes |
- External solder ball only. Internal solder bumps in the flip-chip packages will remain unchanged.
- The RoHS-compliant alternative materials used in BGA and FineLine BGA (FBGA) packages have a higher melting point than the leaded materials and, therefore, require a different manufacturing flow to mount the devices on a PCB board.
Identifying Altera’s RoHS-Compliant Devices
Identification of RoHS-compliant products is one of the remaining major concerns for RoHS-compliant conversion. Altera recognizes this issue and uses the following mechanisms to identify and distinguish RoHS-compliant components from leaded components.
Ordering Codes: All RoHS-compliant components are denoted by an "N" suffix at the end of the part number. For example, "EP1C12F324C6N."
Device Marking: All RoHS-compliant components are marked with the ordering codes that contain the “N” suffix.
Device Marking and Box Label: All Altera RoHS-compliant device packages with a body size of 17 x 17 mm and greater are marked with eN category codes in accordance with JEDEC standard JESD-97 (PDF). The moisture barrier bag and the shipping box are also marked with information to help identify RoHS-compliant components. Additional information including a sample label is available in ADV0501 (PDF).
