Ultra pure gold is used extensively in high tech industries such as MEMS, medical, wireless, defense and compound semiconductor wafer fabrication because of its high electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, reflectance, and relative chemical inertness. Gold is commonly deposited as thin film using an electron-beam evaporation process. To ensure the desired properties are present in deposited thin films, it is imperative that the source material used is extremely pure.
Furthermore, gold is prone to spitting during evaporation as discussed here, which can lead to defects in the deposited film, and thus indicate defects in the end use product. A more pure gold source material supplied by Materion will reduce the extent of spitting, and defect formation to ensure the end product is of the highest quality. We are one of the few companies to offer the full value product lifecycle in precious metals, including sourcing, manufacturing, shield kit cleaning, recycling, refining and settlement options, see figure 1.
Figure 1. Above diagram illustrates Materion’s integrated precious metals services and technology offering.
Materion supplies gold for electron-beam evaporation applications that is at least 99.999 % (5-9’s) pure. With its on-site refineries in Albuquerque, New Mexico and Buffalo, New York, Materion has the unique capability of controlling the starting purity of the input material. This purity is then maintained throughout the manufacturing process to produce an optimal composition to meet our customers’ needs. We have the technical expertise and right resources available to provide various gold based solutions for your team, specializing in custom made product.
For the most demanding applications, such as in the semiconductor industry, Materion also produces gold that exceeds 5-9’s purity. Using this material further reduces spitting and improves overall yields while meeting customers’ specifications for restricting specific elemental impurities. Additionally, the use of higher purity gold allows engineers and product designers to push the limits of their applications and develop more innovative solutions.
Optimal Strategies for Cost Reduction of Gold. Learn all the ways Materion employs in their manufacturing process to keep high value gold usage at a minimum, but take product quality to a maximum.
Ultra Pure & Clean Gold. Learn about the technology to reduce gold spitting with a technical paper highlighting Materion's findings.