Introduction
Silver plating offers the highest electrical conductivity of all metals. However, it is not a precious metal and will oxidize rapidly. For less demanding applications in electronics, silver is often used as a cheaper replacement for gold. Although silver is a better conductor than gold it does oxidize and so gold is better for contacts. However, variable capacitors are considered of the highest quality when they have silver-plated plates. In this application there is no make and break contact so gold would not offer any advantage over silver.
Main Application / Advantages
- Silver plating is best suited for engineering purposes for solderable surfaces. It advantages include its electrical contact characteristics, high electrical and thermal conductivity, thermocompression bonding, wear resistance of load-bearing surfaces, utility in spectral reflectivity electrical applications, good corrosion resistance, and good solderability.
Generic Process Flow
