Tin Whiskers
I promised I would delve into the world of Tin Whiskers. It may not be that exciting a world to some. But it may explain some future occurances and the reasons behind them.
Tin Whiskers are individual crystals of tin that grow spontaneously from a tinned surface. It is assumed that they are the result of some sort of stress but the exact cause is still unkown. Tin whiskers have beed around since the 40’s. Their growth was minimuzed by using lead alloys in the soldering of electrical components. However, now with RoHS and other directives reducing the use of Lead, tin whiskers have surfaced as a problem once again.
Tin whiskers are typically only a few millimeters long, some may grow as long as 10 mm. In electronic assemblies, these whiskers can cause electrical shorts and can break loose and cause other problems (blocking optical circuits for example) They have been attributed to problems in a wide range of devices including pacemakers, nuclear power plants, satelites, space shuttles, and military missiles.
It is generally thought that the market demand for environmentally friendly components will outweigh the potential for tin whisker component failure.
So if your iPhone suddenly stops working even after you have taken ultimate care of it, it may not be because of a bad device. It may just be tin whiskers exerting their dominance.
