Solder mask on PCBs is applied to keep solder off of areas around the printed circuit board’s contacts, using the principal that solder will not bond to non-metallic surfaces. As some of us can attest – solder can be difficult to use even on certain metallic surfaces! Although that is true for most alloys, Indium has a unique ability to bond to some non-metallic surfaces like glass and ceramics.
This is important for you if you need to create any of the following:
1) A hermetic seal between a glass lens and a metal housing
2) A metal-to-glass tube seal
3) A rework-able glass to glass bond
4) A sputtering target, consisting of a ceramic and a metal backing plate
5) Bonding pins to a ceramic connector
If you have a challenging non-metallic bonding application, contact us. We solve these type of problems often, and we most likely have a solution waiting for you!
This post is part of the “6 Strange Properties of Indium” series.
