Effects of gold plating on the resistance to high temperature discoloration of the cavity for ceramic packages

The effects of thickness and types of gold plating on the resistance to high temperature discoloration of gold plating on cavity surface of ceramic package were investigated. It was found that the thicker gold plating, the less discoloration degree for ceramic packages. Non-cyanide gold plating performed better resistance to high-temperature aging than cyanide gold plating. The relationship between the gold plating thickness and the amount of diffused Ni to the gold plating of ceramic packages with Au/Ni and Au/Ni-Co platings after heating at 420℃ for 15 min was also studied. When the gold plating thickness reach 2.0 μm and 1.6 μm for Au/Ni and Au/Ni-Co plating systems, respectively, no discoloration was observed on the gold plating surface of cavity, and the corresponding diffused Ni amounts (mass fraction) are 1.0% and 0.4%, while the diffused Co to the gold plating is 0.04%.