![]() ![]() So, what has changed? Well, for most solder/braze suppliers nothing has changed, many companies have no desire in offering these unique alloys – and those who do face the same struggles we have in the past. As long as I have been interested in these alloys, they always seemed like something I shouldn’t mention, because they were so difficult to manufacture. ![]() In the past, gold-indium alloys have been quite brittle, which means they were difficult to form into parts, package, and ship without cracking. (“High-Temperature” is relative to a solder company, this term includes low-temperature brazes.) By the way, Bernie has a blog and can be contacted directly for more braze information at have brought all this Au/In information up today for a good reason. Since we are discussing brazes, I should also mention a resource for anyone out there looking for more information than I can provide on the topic: Bernard Leavitt is a Product Specialist for High-Temperature Applications at Indium Corporation. This alloy is well worth the cost for certain applications. ![]() A gold-indium bond can be formed under 200☌, and will resist re-melt until temperatures over 400☌! Although this is obviously an expensive braze material due to the gold content, it is very interesting for applications requiring low processing temperatures, high strength, and high in-process temperature resistance. Again, this hue is quite faint, but it is noticeable when compared to indium or most other colorless solders.Īu/In alloys also find use in brazing applications. I wear a ring with Au/In cast into it – at times I wonder if the blue tint is even visible.Īnother hue that is possible is a rose color. It is possible to cast the Au-In, and that’s probably your best bet. 3) For the slight hue, for most people the expense and difficulty are not worth the expense and effort. 2) It is more like a gemstone than a metal in physical qualities, so it is difficult to work with. 1) Most Jewelers don’t have the right equipment and/or metallurgical background to process the material. ![]() To some well-informed jewelers and metallurgists “blue gold” is known to be an interesting material, although it is very rarely produced due to a few factors. My interest does not end with the properties of the Au/In alloys and intermetallics, these combinations are sometimes aesthetically pleasing as well! Depending on the combination, these materials can have a hue to them. For information on all the combinations and resulting metallurgical structures, I recommend checking out this phase diagram and accompanying explanation. In addition, not every combination of gold and indium is an alloy, these elements also form intermetallics. This makes the Au/In alloys extremely difficult to work with. (We’re talking about “not-in-the-realm-of-soft-solders” hard…). The elements are interesting on their own, but perhaps the most unique thing about these elements is the combination of gold and indium: Both gold and indium alone are extremely soft relative to most metals, yet every alloy of the two I have experienced has been very hard. This shouldn’t come as a surprise I caught gold fever panning for gold during a trip to Alaska, and “indium fever” is a pre-requisite for my job. This picture was taken at the exact moment I realized gold fever is a real thing.įor some reason, I find the combination of gold and indium incredibly interesting. SiP & Heterogeneous Integration & Assembly (HIA).The Indium Corporation & Macartney Family Foundation. ![]()
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