Electro-Spec Blog

While single-metal plating has been used for many years for a variety of industries, “White Bronze” or tri-metal (Tri-M3) plating is quickly becoming a suitable alternative. White Bronze plating offers superior corrosion resistance, low electrical resistance, non-magnetic properties, and extremely high hardness characteristics. It’s a less expensive approach to using silver and offers definitive health safety advantages compared to nickel. Due to its cost effectiveness and performance White Bronze is rapidly becoming the preferred plating for RF Connectors.

White Bronze centers around an alloy ratio of 55% copper, 30% tin, and 15% zinc. It offers the same bright white finish as plated alloys that contain nickel, silver, or rhodium. It produces smooth, low friction surfaces with non-porous characteristics and is also non-magnetic. White Bronze is ideal for soldering applications as it is lead-free, can be soldered with or without flux, and offers excellent leveling characteristics. The most important factor for tri-metal alloys in electroplating is the ability to control the % alloy mixture to achieve specific performance characteristics and properties. This has resulted in an increase use of White Bronze for the electronics and telecommunications industries and is a significant replacement to traditional tin and copper-tin alloy plating via silver or nickel.

A wide range of devices with numerous applications use precious metal plating. This process, however, can often be expensive and the precious metal is subjected to wear and tear that can eventually cause failures. Electro-Spec’s innovative methods for plating include a technological advancement known as SAM’s.  The SAM’S process allows, for example a gold plated component to have a much thinner deposit without a reduction in functionality.

What is SAM’s?

SAM is an acronym for Self-Assembled Molecules. The SAM’S process employs bi-Functional or multi-functional molecules that offer two or more termination groups with different functionality. Essentially, the SAM’S proces s uses molecules that offer two levels of protection. The molecules used in the SAM'S method can be attached to metal alloys as well as ceramic, glass, plastics, and more. Right now, SAM’S technology is only being used as a post-plate surface treatment for gold, silver and tri-alloy (Tri-M3). 

Ever the innovator, Electro-Spec’s engineering team identified a need for a plating process that would enhance the performance of RF connectors. What they developed was the TRI-M3™ finish; this cutting edge process represents a dramatic improvement in plating RF connectors.

The TRI-M3™ process provides high corrosion and tarnish resistance with a shelf life that far exceeds traditional silver plating, and with superior electrical performance to nickel. This plating method overcomes the negative characteristics of silver and nickel plating, while enhancing their positive properties. Silver exhibits excellent electrical properties, but tends to tarnish and break down over time, while nickel exceeds silver regarding longer shelf life and wear characteristics, but exhibits poor intermodulation performance, high permeability, and poor screening effects.

The use of gold plating in the electronics industry has been an ongoing part of the expansion of more complex digital electronics and equipment throughout many industry sectors.  According to BullionStreet, over 320 tons of gold are used each year in the electronics industry.  This includes gold in PCs, mobile phones, tablets and other devices.  The overall use of gold in electronics is via gold plating.  Gold plating is primarily used on contacts for switches, relays, and connectors 

As a pioneer in the plating industry, Electro-Spec constantly strives to improve upon current processes. . One of our recent technological innovations is the use of Self Assembled Molecules (SAMs) over plated surfaces. NanoSHIELD-AU provides  a number of benefits for plated products, including reduced thickness, enhanced contact resistance, diffusion resistance, and corrosion and wear resistance. To date, Electro-Spec is the only metal finishing  company in the world that utilizes this technology.