Investigation of Morphology and Electrical Properties of Contact Materials after Airtightness Test

Abstract

In this article, the corrosion behavior of the gold plating and the silver plating specimens are studied. It is found that the airtightness have effects on the contact properties of the different plating specimens. The surface morphology of specimens is observed by stereoscopic microscope and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Chemical constitution was examined by X-ray energy spectrum. The contact resistances were measured by four-point method. The experiment results show that the corrosion appearance of the silver plating is severer than that of the gold plating one after airtightness test. The corrosion degree of plating specimens decreased with the increase of the coatings thickness. The static contact resistances of corrosive spots appear higher contact resistance than normal value. It is found the high and unstable contact resistance of the corrosion products is more likely to cause contact failure. The influencing factor of the corrosion products with different plating has an important influence on the airtightness test and the contact failure of electric connector.