Electroconductive material for connection component

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9449728-B2
Application number	US-201313790680-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 8, 2013
Priority date	Mar 30, 2012
Publication date	Sep 20, 2016
Grant date	Sep 20, 2016

Abstract

An electroconductive material for a connection component have a base member made of a copper alloy plate, a Ni coating layer, a Cu—Sn alloy coating layer, and a Sn coating layer. A surface of the material is subjected to reflow treatment. The base member surface is roughened. The Cu—Sn alloy coating layer is partially exposed from the outside surface of the Sn coating layer. Regions of the Cu—Sn alloy coating layer exposed to the outside surface of the Sn coating layer have random microstructures distributed irregularly between portions of the Sn coating layer and streak microstructures extending in parallel to a rolled direction of the base member. The streak microstructures having a length of 50 μm or more and a width of 10 μm or less are contained in a number of 35 or more per 1 mm 2 .

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An electroconductive material, comprising:
a base member made of a copper alloy plate,
a Cu—Sn alloy coating layer formed on the base member and having a Cu content of 20 to 70% by atom and an average thickness of 0.2 to 3.0 μm, and
a Sn coating layer formed on the Cu—Sn alloy coating layer and having an average thickness of 0.2 to 5.0 μm,
wherein
a surface of the material, which is an outside surface of the Sn coating layer, is subjected to reflow treatment and has an arithmetic average roughness Ra of 0.15 μm or more in at least one direction along the surface and an arithmetic average roughness Ra of 3.0 μm or less in all directions along the surface,
the Cu—Sn alloy coating layer has an exposed surface which is partially exposed from the outside surface of the Sn coating layer,
an area ratio of the exposed surface of the Cu—Sn alloy coating layer to the surface of the material is 3 to 75%,
the Cu—Sn alloy coating layer has an average material surface exposed region interval of 0.01 to 0.5 mm in at least one direction along the surface,
regions of the exposed surface of the Cu—Sn alloy coating layer have random microstructures distributed irregularly between portions of the Sn coating layer and streak microstructures extending in parallel to a rolled direction of the base member,
the surface of the material has a number density of the streak microstructures having a length of 50 μm or more and a width of 10 μm or less of 35 or more per 1 mm 2 , and
a frictional coefficient in a direction perpendicular to the rolled direction is smaller than a frictional coefficient in a direction parallel to the rolled direction.

2. The electroconductive material according to claim 1 , wherein a thickness of the exposed surface of the Cu—Sn alloy coating layer is 0.2 μm or more.

3. The electroconductive material according to claim 1 , further comprising
a Cu coating layer between the base member and the Cu—Sn alloy coating layer.

4. The electroconductive material according to of claim 1 , further comprising
a Ni coating layer between the base member and the Cu—Sn alloy coating layer.

5. The electroconductive material according to claim 4 , further comprising
a Cu coating layer between the Ni coating layer and the Cu—Sn alloy coating layer.

6. The electroconductive material according to claim 1 , wherein an arithmetic average roughness Ra of a surface of the base member is 0.3 μm or more at least in one direction and 4.0 μm or less in all directions.

7. The electroconductive material according to claim 6 , wherein the surface of the base member has asperities with an average interval Sm of 0.01 to 0.5 mm at least in one direction.

8. The electroconductive material according to claim 1 , which is suitable for a connection component.

Assignees

• Kobe Steel Ltd

Inventors

• Tsuru Masahiro

Classifications

• Y10T428/12715

  Next to Group IB metal-base component · CPC title

• H01B1/026 Primary

  Alloys based on copper · CPC title

• Y10T428/12708

  Sn-base component · CPC title

• Y10T428/1291

  Next to Co-, Cu-, or Ni-base component · CPC title

• C25D5/505

  of electroplated tin coatings, e.g. by melting · CPC title