custom made pcb boards

Nickel-free gold-plated custom made pcb boards: a high-tech choice to ensure high reliability

In the modern high-tech field, electronic products are developing rapidly. In these advanced electronic devices, printed circuit boards (PCBs) play a vital role, and pads are an important part of PCBs.

In order to ensure high reliability and excellent performance, nickel-free electroplating has become an important choice in applications such as military industry.

As a leading supplier of nickel-free electroplating, Shijiazhuang Linke Electronics Tech Co.,Ltd is committed to providing you with high-reliability solutions. We focus on the research and development and manufacture of nickel-free electroplating PCB boards to ensure that your electronic equipment performs well in high-reliability fields such as military industry.

This article will introduce the definition, use, reasons for the prohibition of nickel and the importance of gold plating thickness of nickel-free electroplating.

What is a nickel-free electroplated gold PCB?

Nickel-free electroplated gold PCB refers to a thick soft gold (gold without cobalt) directly electroplated on the copper pad of the circuit board. The thickness range is usually between 40-240U (microinches), and the most common thickness is 80U. Unlike other metal electroplating technologies, there is no nickel between copper and gold.

Uses of nickel-free electroplated gold PCB

The main application area of ​​nickel-free electroplated gold PCB is the military industry, which requires high reliability. In military equipment, especially communication and radar systems, high reliability is crucial. Nickel-free electroplated gold PCBs play a key role in these devices, ensuring stable connections and reliable signal transmission.

Why can't there be nickel?

In 5G applications, the reason for choosing nickel-free electroplated gold PCBs instead of nickel layers is that nickel will affect the magnetism of the signal. 5G technology has extremely high requirements for high-speed, high-frequency and low-latency signal transmission, and any factors that may affect signal transmission should be eliminated. By using nickel-free electroplated gold PCBs, potential problems caused by the nickel layer can be avoided to ensure pure signal transmission.

Importance of gold plating thickness

In order to ensure the reliability of nickel-free electroplated gold boards, the thickness of gold plating is crucial. The thickness of gold plating is usually between 40-240U, and the most common thickness is 80U. Such thickness helps to provide sufficient metal quality to ensure good connectivity and long-term stability.

Advantages of nickel-free electroplated gold PCBs

Nickel-free electroplated gold PCBs have many advantages over traditional nickel-gold electroplated PCBs.

First, it avoids signal interference caused by the nickel layer, which is especially important for the transmission of high-frequency and high-speed signals.

Secondly, the production process of nickel-free electroplated gold PCBs is more simplified and does not require nickel processing, which helps to improve production efficiency and reduce costs.

In addition, since there is no nickel layer to block it, copper ions will not migrate to the gold layer, which helps to maintain good connectivity and long-term reliability.

Application prospects of nickel-free electroplated gold PCBs

With the continuous development of 5G technology and the military industry, nickel-free electroplated gold PCBs will continue to play an important role. Its advantages in high-reliability equipment and its important role in the pure transmission of signals will make it widely used in communications, radars and other military equipment.

At the same time, with the continuous advancement of manufacturing technology, the production cost of nickel-free electroplated gold PCBs will be further reduced, providing possibilities for more application areas.

As a high-reliability option, nickel-free electroplated gold PCBs play a key role in military and other fields. Its characteristics of directly electroplating thick soft gold without nickel ensure the pure transmission of signals, especially for 5G applications with extremely high signal requirements.

At the same time, the appropriate metal thickness ensures good connectivity and long-term stability. With the advancement of technology, nickel-free electroplated gold PCBs are expected to be used in more fields, providing strong guarantees for the reliability and performance of modern high-tech equipment.