《Relay Contacts》.pdfVIP

High Temperature Resistant Gold Alloys for Switching Signal Relay Contacts Dr. Werner Johler Tyco Electronics Logistics AG – Werk AXICOM Au Seestrasse 295, CH-8804 Au-Waedenswil, Switzerland werner.johler@ Summary – Most telecom/signal relays are of the nickel alloys with a nickel concentration of approximately surface-mounted type nowadays. Since the introduction 0.02 percent [1]. Generally, for switching contacts the of lead-free soldering processes, the temperature content of organic materials in the deposited gold layer is exceeds 260°C during the soldering process. In a critical, as this might result in increased carbon generation growing share of applications, these relays are during low-level switching. additionally used in high-temperature environments Most information published on thin gold layers is related to such as motor compartments. contacts used in connectors. There are some relevant Regardless of the high ambient temperatures of up to differences between switching and connector contacts, 125°C at which the relays are operated, there are although they carry the same signal levels. unchanged requirements of the stability of the contact Firstly, the contact force is significantly different. While in resistance, with target values of less than 10 m? relays the contact force is as low as 1 cN, in connectors a deviation during the entire lifetime. minimum of 20 cN can be expected. Secondly, the closing In order to achieve low and stable contact resistance, mechanism differs. Designs for switching contacts provide the type of gold alloy and the way the gold layers are only a few μm of relative movement when contacts close, processed are of major importance. Sputtered and while inserting the connectors always provides at least 1/10 diffused gold layers showed better performance at high