Gold plated terminations eliminate tin whiskering

Tin whiskers are microscopic single-crystal metal fibres, thinner than a human hair, capable of bridging great distances between leads on electronic components, and creating short-circuits and failures. They are caused by deposit stress, such as heat, to pure tin plated components and are almost invisible to the eye, needing magnification and special lighting to be seen.  However, failures that they can cause represent a clear and present danger especially to high-reliability applications such as medical implantable devices and military equipment.

Knowles group company Novacap’s gold termination consists of a 127nm minimum gold flash over a nickel barrier and is defined by the use of a “NG” in the part number ordering code. It can be specified for both PME and High Capacitance BME product lines. 

To further strengthen the company’s’ commitment to alternate termination offerings, other “hard to find” terminations, such as Tin/Lead (desired for many military applications) can still be specified.