Solder bond applications in a piezoelectric sensor assembly

A procedure to use solder technology in the assembly of a single-crystal quartz accelerometer was developed. 87.5 Au-12.5 Ge (wt.%) solder films 0.5×10^-6, 1.0×1.0^-6, and 2.0×10^-6 m thick were formed by the electron beam deposition of individual layers of Au and Ge with thicknesses so that the bulk film composition equaled the eutectic composition. The 2.0×10^-6 m thick quartz/Au-Ge/quartz bonds had an adhesive tensile strength of 17±2 MPa. The strength increased to 29±3 MPa and 27±12 MPa after thermal shock and thermal cycle exposures, respectively. The 1.0×10^-6 m thick bonds exhibited strengths of 16±3 MPa, and 15±8 MPa in the as-fabricated, post-thermal shock, and post-thermal cycled samples, respectively. The 0.5×10^-6m joints produced a large degree of scatter in the strength values