Soldering (see RoHS), has led to a change in formulation of both solders and fluxes. Water-soluble non-rosin-based fluxes have been increasingly used since the 1980s so that soldered boards can be cleaned with water or water-based cleaners. This eliminates hazardous solvents from the production environment, and from factory effluents. Those regulations have also reduced the use of lead based solders, and caused the melting temperatures of solders in use to increase by up to . "Hot-bar reflow" is a selective soldering process where two pre-fluxed, solder coated parts are heated with heating element (called a thermode) to a sufficient temperature to
Crystal structure of boron-rich metal borides p-type electrical conductivity. Increasing the conductivity is a key issue for thermoelectric applications of these borides. YB is used as a soft-X-ray monochromator for dispersing 1–2 keV synchrotron radiation at some synchrotron radiation facilities. Contrary to thermoelectric applications, high thermal conductivity is desirable for synchrotron radiation monochromators. YB exhibits low, amorphous-like thermal conductivity. However, transition metal doping increases the thermal conductivity twice in YNbB as compared to undoped YB. Crystal structure of boron-rich metal borides Metals, and specifically rare-earth elements, form numerous chemical complexes with boron. Their crystal structure and chemical bonding depend strongly on the metal element M and