I had some fun last night with learning how to coat the contacts of my MMC20 mount reproduction part with gold. This is a follow up to this post. I think naked copper traces are not good enough for long term stability on this part due to oxidation issues. I used an electroplating solution soaked wand and 4.5V DC with the negative lead connected to the traces to be coated (metal ions are positive) and the positive to the wand. After a few minutes working the wand I saw a golden sheen on the copper...this picture shows the coated traces in comparison with some uncoated ones:
After this success I studied up a bit more about gold plating and it seems that the microelectronics industry standard is to put a nickel diffusion barrier between the gold and the copper...I guess I need to get some Ni electrolyte going. I also need to test for adhesion, there are some interesting test procedures for meeting the electronics industry standards. But I guess I am one step closer to the final design!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments and suggestions are welcome!