Out in Front: August 1, 1996

A line of connectors from Ranoda Electronics uses palladium-nickel plating, which Lucent Technologies (formerly, AT&T) developed. According to Ranoda, the plating offers better resistance to wear and corrosion than does gold plating. Moreover, the new plating resists intermetallic formation, which can make the plating brittle. Intermetallic formation is a common problem with gold, which is highly soluble in tin-lead solder.

The plating process yields significant cost savings, because it costs less than one-third as much as gold plating. Also, palladium plating is approximately 62% less dense and thus uses less material than does gold. Further, plating with palladium and its alloys is more efficient than with gold, because palladium plates and etches away faster than gold. Cost per 1A contact is about $0.01 (OEM) vs $0.02 for gold-plated contacts.

—by Bill Travis

Lucent Technologies Bell Labs, Murray Hill, NJ. (800) 221-6316.

Ranoda Electronics Inc, Miami, FL. (305) 593-0129.