Sandia develops alloy for high-temperature electronics

Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM, U.S. (source: flickr/ NNSANews, creative commons)

Alexander Richter 22 Mar 2013

Sandia National Laboratories have developed a gold-silver-germanium alloy that is capable of withstanding high temperatures and pressures.  The melting point of the alloy was suggested by Sandia to be around 450 degrees Celsius. The alloy may have potential applications as a solder for electronics in high-temperature environments, such as those found in high-temperature geothermal wells.

Current brazing processes occur at temperatures above 750 degrees Celsius, and the materials used are generally not suitable for electronics. Whilst most soldering occurs at temperatures below 350 degrees Celsius, which is not suitable for high temperature geothermal electronics. Therefore Sandia believes their new alloy will fill a niche for high temperature soldering. Sandia also postulates that their Ag-Au-Ge alloy comes with additional environmental and social benefits given that it is free of lead.

Sandia is currently seeking funding to develop the material to a prototype stage for geothermal, oil and gas well tools.