Lead-Free Component Advances Greener Electronics
<p> Researchers have developed a lead-free alternative to a common component in electronics, but more importantly, they have figured out a way to produce it on an industrial scale.</p>
Cell phone - CC license by Flickr user AMagill
Researchers have developed a lead-free alternative to a common electronics component as well as a way to manufacture it on an industrial scale.
Lead in being banned in electronics in Europe through the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive. But one lead-containing material in electronics, lead zirconate titanate (PZT), has been difficult to replace.
PZT is used to create electrical signals in response to pressure, and is found in practically all electronics, from cell phones to cars.
A research team at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology has figured out a way to make a lead-free replacement that works just as well as PZT as well as produce it industrially, reports Science Daily.
The researchers focused on alkali niobate (KNN), and by making it into thin ceramic sheets with a precise structure, they were able to give the material the same properties as PZT. The researchers have submitted a patent application and plan to develop it further.
Cell phone - CC license by Flickr user AMagill
