Back to results
US 9,224,550 B2Granted
Corrosion resistant barrier formed by vapor phase tin reflow
AssigneeTyco Electronics Corporation
InventorGeorge Jyh-Shann Chou
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Loading patent…
Loading patent…
AssigneeTyco Electronics Corporation
InventorGeorge Jyh-Shann Chou
Estimating the term…
A copper substrate for use as a contact having Sn plating, nickel plating and Au plating overlying the substrate. A combination of Sn plating is applied over a copper substrate; nickel plating is applied over the Sn plating; and Au plating is applied over the nickel plating to form a stack. The stack is then processed by a vapor phase Sn reflow step that results in the formation of intermetallics and eliminates stannous oxide layers that may otherwise form on the tin layer. The intermetallic layers provide excellent corrosion resistance, and serve as diffusion barriers to prevent the further migration of either Ni atoms or Cu atoms into the Sn, and Sn atoms outwardly into either the Ni or the Cu. Regardless of the thickness, the interfaces are substantially free of oxides, in particular tin oxide, and not prone to delamination.
A process for manufacturing a plated contact, comprising the steps of:
A process for manufacturing a plated contact, comprising the steps of:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.