RoHS and the supply chain: if each component can be verified, then the finished product falls into place.

Ed.: For the full article, please see circuitsassembly.com/cms/content/view/1669/

Let's take a look into the future: Somewhere in Europe, some youngsters in a department store are looking over the latest game boxes with wireless virtual reality controllers. Others are checking out PDAs or jukeboxes (integrated phone, MP3 player, video player and camera, using 2 Gb memory sticks or microdrives). The new point-and-shoot 8 MP digital cameras with wireless download are out there, too. Elsewhere in the store the latest high-tech appliances are displayed--washing machines featuring the latest intelligent software; Bluetooth-controlled window shades; domestic lighting systems controlled from the car as you approach your driveway.

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Doesn't sound like a great stretch? That is because we are only looking a year into the future. But something else is special about these products--all are RoHS-compliant. In Europe, just a year from now, any products on the shelf with any electrical or electronic content will be built from materials compliant with the Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive.

Will there be fanfare on July 1, 2006, the critical date that RoHS legislation becomes enforceable? Probably not: Compliant products will already be established in the supply chain. In fact, many of the products available next year will differ little in material content from models currently available; most high-volume consumer items (typically portable devices using surface-mount technology) are already RoHS-compliant while many of the peripherals and white goods (using mixed technology) are still ahead of the curve in the process of conversion.

As the "RoHS date" approaches, one question is being raised more frequently: How will the legislation be implemented? No single answer exists--it will be up to each individual member state to police--and for most OEMs it is somewhat academic. With products shipping globally, they will simply need to meet the tightest specifications for markets served. And while the mechanics of legislation are not yet defined, it is a sure bet that documentation of compliance will be a prime requirement.

As a first step to ensure compliance, OEMs will require that each component is itself compliant, based on data from their suppliers. RoHS takes it one stage further, requiring that each homogenous material used in any product is itself RoHS-compliant.

What is the current definition of "homogenous material?" The RoHS directive was formulated as an adjunct to the WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) directive, which would restrict hazardous materials at the source (device manufacture) so the requirements of WEEE could be better achieved. WEEE governs how finished electrical and electronic goods are ultimately disposed. When disposing of such items, it is important to know which of the components or subassemblies are "mechanically disjointable," as they may come back for recycling already broken into their constituent parts.

(As an aside, WEEE is scheduled for introduction ahead of RoHS. Of the EU member states, Greece is currently the only one to implement on schedule, but many other states will have it in place prior to July 1, 2006.)

Chris Reynolds is a product manager at AVX Corp. (avx-corp.com); [e-mail].