On October 28, 2014, the Center for Advanced Life Cycle Engineering and theIPC will hold the 8th International Symposium on Tin Whiskers in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. This symposium is being supported by Lockheed Martin. This event is co-located with the IPC TechSummit, which runs Tuesday, October 28 through Thursday, October 30.

Since its inception, the International Symposium on Tin Whiskers has been the most prominent forum for discussing the current state of knowledge related to tin whiskers. Tin whiskers, which are electrically conductive tin filaments that grow spontaneously from tin-finished surfaces, remain a known failure risk in electronics that have tin-finished surfaces. Despite significant research over the past decade, the ability to predict whisker growth for long-life applications remains a challenge. Further, studies on the use of barriers, such as conformal coating, to contain whiskers and prevent whisker contact have demonstrated issues with insufficient coverage and whiskers erupting from beneath thin coverage. Past presentations at this symposiumhave examined growth theories, whisker failures, and risk assessment and mitigations strategies.

For the upcoming sysmposium, we are looking for presentations on the following topics:Causes of tin whisker growthTesting methods related to tin whiskersTin whisker-induced failuresField studies, case studies, real-world examplesMaterial perspectivesRisk mitigation/evaluationForensicsImportant dates:July 10, 2014 - abstracts dueJuly 25, 2014 - notification regarding status of submissionSeptember 15, 2014 - Completed presentations duePlease direct questions and send abstracts to Dr. Michael Osterman.