The Application of Palladium in Electronic Connectors

Palladium and palladium-based materials are being increasingly accepted as substitutes for gold in contacts for separable electronic connectors. Since 1975 the favourable cost of palladium relative to gold has stimulated research in many areas of contact technology, including manufacturing processes, contact phenomena, testing and connector design. This has resulted in the development of several new materials systems involving electrodeposited coatings, clad inlays and weldments of palladium, palladium-silver alloys, gold-palladium-silver compositions and composite coatings with other metals that are equivalent to all-gold systems in many applications. This review traces the history of research on palladium for use in connectors, and summarises important results of studies of the environmental, tribological and contact properties of palladium materials.