This process is primarily for electric, electronic and wire bonding applications. It plates a thin, gold deposit on electroless nickel. Masking is available for plating a specific area, an internal or external thread, as required.
Its characteristics include:
- Very good solderability;
- A bright, uniform deposit; and
- It does not tarnish.
Questions & Answers
What is Immersion gold coating?
Immersion gold is a chemical process that forms a very thin layer of gold over electroless nickel deposits. IS is mainly used to protect Ni from oxidation. The gold is applied by immersion in a solution that contains gold salts; when an Electroless nickel deposit get in contact with this special formulated gold solution, the very surface nickel atoms are oxidized to Ni 2+ while Gold is reduced to metallic state forming the thin film that has a very good adhesion to the nickel coated components.
It is widely used in PC boards, wire bonding and solderability application as well as for components used in detection equipment.
Does immersion gold coating provide adequate surface protection?
Electroless Nickel immersion gold offers very good corrosion protection.
Most of the time Electroless nickel/immersion gold offers better corrosion protection than electroplated gold.
Are immersion gold coatings electrically conductive?
Another attractive property of immersion gold is its remarkable ability to conduct electricity. That’s why immersion gold plating is frequently used in the manufacturing of electronic parts and components such as switches, semiconductors, circuit boards and connectors.
Which metals can be plated with gold?
Virtually any metal can be coated with immersion gold because the first layer is Electroless nickel. Immersion gold process need the EN underlayer to be applied.
How thick is immersion gold deposit?
You actually need a thinner coating of Au than you might think for many applications. The Immersion gold is 7-10 microinches which is very thin. This gives a very good deposit for wire bonding, solderability, and corrosion protection.