Joint Strength with Soldering of Al2O3 Ceramics After Ni-P Chemical Plating

Ni-P alloy was chemically plated on Al2O3 ceramics to produce uniform alloy coatings at temperatures below 70℃. Cu metal was electroplated onto the Ni-P coating to facilitate the soldering and shorten the chemical plating time. Then, the electroplated ceramic specimens were soldered with 60 wt.% Sn-40 wt.% Pb solder in active colophony. The highest shear strength was acquired after the heat treatment at 170℃ for 15 min. The joint fractures mostly propagated along the interface between the ceramics and the Ni-P coating, with some fracture in both the ceramics and the Ni-P coating near the interface and some along the interface between the Cu and Ni-P coatings. The results show that ceramic surface roughness and the chemical plating parameters influence the coating quality, and that suitable heat treatment before the soldering also improves the adhesion between the ceramics and Ni-P coatings, thus strengthening the joints.