EP0192703B1 - Contact electrique a base de nickel - Google Patents

Contact electrique a base de nickel Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0192703B1
EP0192703B1 EP85904351A EP85904351A EP0192703B1 EP 0192703 B1 EP0192703 B1 EP 0192703B1 EP 85904351 A EP85904351 A EP 85904351A EP 85904351 A EP85904351 A EP 85904351A EP 0192703 B1 EP0192703 B1 EP 0192703B1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
nickel
contact
contact material
additional element
contacts
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired
Application number
EP85904351A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Other versions
EP0192703A1 (fr
Inventor
Joachim Jacques Hauser
John Travis Plewes
Murray Robbins
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
AT&T Corp
Original Assignee
American Telephone and Telegraph Co Inc
AT&T Corp
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by American Telephone and Telegraph Co Inc, AT&T Corp filed Critical American Telephone and Telegraph Co Inc
Publication of EP0192703A1 publication Critical patent/EP0192703A1/fr
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0192703B1 publication Critical patent/EP0192703B1/fr
Expired legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
    • H01H1/00—Contacts
    • H01H1/02—Contacts characterised by the material thereof
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
    • H01H1/00—Contacts
    • H01H1/02—Contacts characterised by the material thereof
    • H01H1/021—Composite material

Definitions

  • the invention is concerned with electrical contact surfaces and, more specifically, with nickel- based contact surface materials.
  • U.S. Patents 1,769,229 and 3,017,532 are directed to electrodes and contact elements subject to electric arcs, each contact comprising a substantial amount of nickel and at least one additional element.
  • apparatus as defined in claim 1. It has been discovered that certain nickel alloys have contact properties of high stability and low contact resistance comparable to those of gold.
  • Devices in accordance with the invention comprise a contact surface which is the surface of such alloy comprising nickel and at least one glass-forming additional element such as boron, silicon, germanium, phosphorus, arsenic, antimony, or bismuth.
  • glass-forming additional element such as boron, silicon, germanium, phosphorus, arsenic, antimony, or bismuth.
  • the presence of such glass-forming element is considered to inhibit the formation of semiconducting nickel oxide and/orto result in the formation of a thermodynamically more stable compound, preserving metallic conductivity of a contact layer in an oxidizing ambient.
  • crystallographically disordered structure at least upon exposure of the layer to an oxidizing ambient, this as contrasted with the formation of crystalline nickel oxide in the absence of preferred addition of a glass-forming element.
  • crystallographically disordered structure can be produced by ion bombardment, alpha particles being conveniently used for this purpose.
  • the electrical connector device shown in Fig. 1 comprises housing 11 and contact pins 12.
  • Housing 11 is made of an electrically insulating material, and contact pins 12 have contact surfaces in accordance with the invention.
  • Fig. 2 Shown in Fig. 2 are, in cross section, an electrically conducting member 21 on which a surface layer 22 is situated.
  • surface layer 22 is made of an alloy of nickel and at least one glass-forming additional element.
  • portion 23 of layer 22 further comprises oxygen.
  • Preferred glass-forming additive elements are boron, silicon, germanium, phosphorus, arsenic, antimony, and bismuth, and their presence in the contact layer is in a preferred amount in the range of from 1 to 40 and preferably 2 to 10 atom percent relative to the combined amount of nickel and the additive element; preferred also in the range of from 25 to 35 atom percent where thermodynamically stable, stoichiometric compounds are formed.
  • nickel and the glass-forming additive element or elements constitute a preferred amount of at least 70 atom percent of the contact layer material.
  • cobalt is desirable, elements otherthan cobalt preferably being limited to amounts less than 5 atom percent in combination and preferably less than 1 atom percent.
  • Particularly undesirable is the presence of Group VI elements such as sulfur, selenium, and tellurium, and their combined amount is preferably limited to less than 0.5 atom percent.
  • glass-forming additives to nickel are considered to inhibit the formation of semiconducting nickel oxide in an oxidizing ambient.
  • a surface layer of an aggregation including nickel, oxygen, and the glass-forming additive is believed to be formed in sufficiently large regions of the layer, such aggregation having essentially metallic conduction properties. Based on experimental evidence the thickness of the oxygen-containing surface layer is estimated to be on the order of 2.5 nm.
  • Crystallographically disordered structure in nickel-containing layers is produced also upon ion bombardment which results in a crystallographically disordered structure even before exposure to an oxidizing ambient. Still, it is the disordered, quasi-amorphous, glass-like nature of an oxidized surface portion which is considered to be conducive to desired low contact resistance of a contact layer for use in an oxidizing ambient.
  • a crystallographically disordered nickel aggregate preferably comprises nickel in an amount of at least 50 atom percent.
  • a layer consisting essentially of 95 atomic percent nickel and 5 atomic percent antimony was deposited by getter-sputtering approximately 3 micrometers thick on a copper substrate. Standard four-point probes were used to determine surface contact resistance; such resistance was found to be in the range of from 5 to 7 milliohms.
  • the deposited film was then subjected to a test for stability at elevated temperature and humidity (65 hours at a temperature of 75 degrees C, relative humidity of 95 percent), and contact resistance was then found to be in the range of from 15 to 20 milliohms.
  • An aqueous solution was prepared containing 208 gm/I NiCl 2 . 6H 2 0, 49 gm/I H 3 P0 4 85 percent, and 5 gmll H 3 P0 3 .
  • the solution was used to electroplate onto a copper electrode; plating bath temperature was 75 degrees C, current density was 150 mA/cm 2 , and plating rate was approximately 3 micrometers per minute.
  • the deposited layer had a thickness of approximately 4.5 micrometers. Contact resistance of the deposited layer was less than 10 milliohms after exposure to the testing ambient.
  • An aqueous solution of 0.087 molar of As 2 O 5 and 0.5 molar of NiCI 2 . 6H 2 0 was prepared.
  • a copper electrode was plated with nickel arsenide by pulse-plating from the solution at a temperature of 75 degrees C; current pulses of 200 mA/ cm 2 were on for 1.5 seconds and off for 0.5 seconds.
  • Deposited layer thickness was approximately 4.5 micrometers. Contact resistance of the deposited layer was less than 10 milliohms after exposure to the testing ambient.
  • a layer of nickel having a thickness of approximately 350 nm was deposited on a polished copper foil.
  • a portion of the nickel layer was covered with an aluminum foil, and alpha-particles were implanted in the uncovered portion of the nickel layer.
  • Alpha-particles had an energy of approximately 1.8 MeV, and a dose of approximately 1.6 ⁇ 10 16 particles per cm 2 was found to be optimal or near-optimal for minimized contact resistance (less than 10 milliohms) after exposure to humid air at elevated temperature as described in Example 1 above. (This test is considered to be an approximate equivalent of exposure to ordinary atmospheric conditions for a duration of 5 years).
  • visual inspection of the implanted portion after the test as compared with the portion which had been covered with aluminum foil, showed the latter to be dull and brownish while the former appeared bright and shiny.

Landscapes

  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Composite Materials (AREA)
  • Materials Engineering (AREA)
  • Contacts (AREA)
  • Conductive Materials (AREA)

Abstract

On décrit des contacts contenant du nickel et possédant une structure cristallographique désordonnée, et dont les propriétés de contact électrique permettent leur utilisations en remplacement des contacts en or. Les contacts décrits ont une faible résistance de contact même après une exposition prolongée à un environnement oxydant. Des contacts contenant du nickel et au moins un additif qui produit du verre choisi parmi les suivants: bore, silicium, germanium, phosphore, arsenic, antimoine, bismuth, sont créés rapidement, par exemple en forme de couches sur des substrats. Une structure cristallographique désordonnée est produite dans une couche à surface de contact, au moins dès son exposition à un environnement oxydant; autrement, une telle structure souhaitée peut être crééé par bombardement ionique et même en l'absence d'additifs de formation du verre.

Claims (10)

1. Dispositif comprenant un contact électrique, ce contact (12) comprenant une partie qui consiste en un matériau de contact (22) qui contient une quantité notable de nickel et au moins un élément supplémentaire, caractérisé en ce que le ou les éléments supplémentaires consistent en éléments formant un verre, sélectionnés parmi le bore, le silicium, le germanium, le phosphore, l'arsenic, l'antimoine et le bismuth, le ou les éléments supplémentaires sont présents dans le matériau de contact en une proportion, en pourcentage atomique, dans la plage de 2 à 10% de la quantité combinée de nickel et de l'élément ou des éléments supplémentaires, cette quantité combinée étant supérieure ou égale à un pourcentage atomique de 70% du matériau de contact, et au moins une région de surface (23) de la partie de matériau de contact à une structure désordonnée au point de vue cristallographique, qui est produite sous l'effet de l'exposition du matériau de contact à une ambiance oxydante ou par bombardement ionique, cette région de surface ayant une résistance de contact relativement faible.
2. Dispositif selon la revendication 1, caractérisé en ce que la partie de matériau de contact se présente sous la forme d'une couche déposée sur un substrat (21).
3. Dispositif selon la revendication 1 ou 2, caractérisé en ce que la région de surface a une résistance de contact qui est inférieure à 100 milliohms.
4. Dispositif selon la revendication 1, 2 ou 3, caractérisé en ce que le matériau de contact comprend en outré du cobalt.
5. Dispositif selon l'une quelconque des revendications 1 à 4 précédentes, caractérisé en ce que le matériau de contact comprend un pourcentage atomique d'au moins 50% de nickel, et la structure désordonnée est produite par bombardement ionique.
6. Dispositif selon l'une quelconque des revendications 1 à 5 précédentes, caractérisé en ce que la quantité de soufre, de sélénium et de tellur, en combinaison, est limitée dans le matériau de contact à un pourcentage atomique inférieur à 0,5%.
7. Dispositif selon l'une quelconque des revendications 1 à 6 précédentes, caractérisé en ce que le ou les éléments supplémentaires consistent en bore, en phosphore ou en arsenic.
8. Dispositif selon l'une quelconque des revendications 1 à 6 précédentes, caractérisé en ce que le ou les éléments supplémentaires consistent un silicium ou en germanium.
9. Dispositif selon l'une quelconque des revendications 1 à 6 précédentes, caractérisé en ce que le ou les éléments supplémentaires consistent en antimoine ou en bismuth.
EP85904351A 1984-08-31 1985-08-19 Contact electrique a base de nickel Expired EP0192703B1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (4)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US64670784A 1984-08-31 1984-08-31
US646707 1984-08-31
US76140285A 1985-08-01 1985-08-01
US761402 1985-08-01

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0192703A1 EP0192703A1 (fr) 1986-09-03
EP0192703B1 true EP0192703B1 (fr) 1989-11-02

Family

ID=27094992

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP85904351A Expired EP0192703B1 (fr) 1984-08-31 1985-08-19 Contact electrique a base de nickel

Country Status (7)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0192703B1 (fr)
JP (1) JPH08306256A (fr)
KR (1) KR930009233B1 (fr)
CA (1) CA1248780A (fr)
DE (1) DE3574075D1 (fr)
ES (1) ES8704042A1 (fr)
WO (1) WO1986001636A1 (fr)

Families Citing this family (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPS6481130A (en) * 1987-09-21 1989-03-27 Omron Tateisi Electronics Co Electrical contact
JPH0359972A (ja) * 1989-07-27 1991-03-14 Yazaki Corp 電気接点
JP3467527B2 (ja) * 1992-12-17 2003-11-17 株式会社山王 接点材料及びその製造方法
FI113912B (fi) * 2001-12-13 2004-06-30 Outokumpu Oy Lisäaineellisella pinnoitteella varustettu yhdysterminaali

Family Cites Families (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US1769229A (en) * 1925-05-19 1930-07-01 Ambrose J Mandell Electrode and contact element
US3017532A (en) * 1956-02-27 1962-01-16 Gen Am Transport Electrical elements
US3856513A (en) * 1972-12-26 1974-12-24 Allied Chem Novel amorphous metals and amorphous metal articles
NL7513557A (nl) * 1974-11-29 1976-06-01 Allied Chem Precisie-weerstand.
JPS543010A (en) * 1977-06-06 1979-01-11 Ajinomoto Co Inc Stabilization of glutamic acid-gamma-semialdehyde or delta1-pyrroline-5- carboxylic acid
JPS57132615A (en) * 1981-02-10 1982-08-17 Tokyo Shibaura Electric Co Composite contact
IT1190842B (it) * 1981-06-30 1988-02-24 Erba Farmitalia Via di sintesi di derivati otticamente attivi dell'acido 2-penem-3-carbossilico
JPS59229428A (ja) * 1984-04-27 1984-12-22 Toshiba Corp ２段ヒステリシスル−プ軟質磁性合金の製造方法
ATE40721T1 (de) * 1984-05-11 1989-02-15 Burlington Industries Inc Elektrischer kontakt beschichtet mit einer amorphen uebergangslegierung der selbst mit einem goldfilm beschichtet ist.

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
ES8704042A1 (es) 1987-03-01
DE3574075D1 (en) 1989-12-07
ES546448A0 (es) 1987-03-01
KR860700310A (ko) 1986-08-01
CA1248780A (fr) 1989-01-17
JPH08306256A (ja) 1996-11-22
WO1986001636A1 (fr) 1986-03-13
KR930009233B1 (ko) 1993-09-24
EP0192703A1 (fr) 1986-09-03

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