This book provides the most up-to-date knowledge and data available on the reliability of lead-free solder interconnects. The content has been written by leading experts working in this important technology area. Both fundamental research and practical considerations are addressed. Environmental regulations are driving the worldwide adoption of lead-free soldering technology for electronics packaging, board assembly, and related manufacturing operations. While a significant amount of research and development work has been conducted in recent years on manufacturing issues to enable the conversion to lead-free solders, data from studies related to the reliability of lead-free solder interconnects are still emerging. Many research projects around the world have been undertaken to study lead-free solder reliability under different loading conditions. The results of these studies have been reported rather sporadically at various technical conferences.