A Reliability Study of a New Nanocrystalline Nickel Alloy Barrier Layer for Electrical Contacts

This paper will present a reliability study of a new nanocrystalline nickel alloy undercoating barrier layer for electrical contacts. The new barrier layer material presented in the paper will be shown to be a viable alternative to the industry standard nickel sulfamate undercoating layer which has been the standard barrier layer in the electronics industry for electrical contacts for many decades. While nickel sulfamate has proven to be a reasonably effective barrier layer against both corrosion and diffusion, the authors of this paper will show that the new nanocrystalline nickel alloy will improve the corrosion resistance, minimize contact wear, and significantly reduce the formation of intermetallics resulting from interdiffusion at interfaces. Both materials will be put through a series of industry standard qualification tests such as mixed flowing gas, thermal shock, humidity cycling, and mechanical vibration to demonstrate the relative effectiveness of each material as an undercoating layer. These qualification tests will be performed in accordance with the Telcordia GR-1217CORE specification and EIA-364 test procedures. This reliability study will also include select test-to-failure sequences to quantify the full achievable performance of the nickel sulfamate relative to the new nanocrystalline nickel alloy as a barrier layer.