Grant: Alliance Grants

Sustainable development has justifiably witnessed a greater focus across Canada. In particular, the ever-accelerating pace of technology progress presents both the imperative and opportunity to replace current materials and chemical substances used in the electronics product supply chain with more environmentally friendly alternatives. Legislation regulating such materials has been established in Europe more than 15 years ago, notably REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals), which is largely inspired by the chemicals found in the SVHC (Substance of Very High Concern) list published by ECHA (European Chemicals Agency) and used in most developed countries. Epoxy resins are one such class of materials commonly employed in the packaging of electronic components. These materials are largely based on compounds derived from petroleum that are non-renewable and often have toxic (human and environmental), carcinogenic and mutagenic effects. To this end, bio-based epoxy resins represent a greener and less toxic alternative whose potential has been reported in a number of non-electronic applications. However, the stringent performance and reliability requirements of electronics products makes it especially difficult to formulate, adapt and garner acceptance of such material. This project seeks to bring together Canadian experts across the entire supply chain, from raw materials thru formulation, end use and life cycle, in order to fully assess the viability and impact of bio-based epoxy resin compounds in microelectronic packaging and extend such learning to other areas of stringent use conditions.