Knocking Down the Bone Pile: Best Practices for Electronic Component Salvaging
Global Citizenship: Together for a Perfect PCB Solution
Smart Automation: Odd-form Assembly—Dedicated Insertion Equipment Matters
Has the Time Finally Come for Tin-nickel Plating?
December 9, 2024 | Marcy LaRont, PCB007 MagazineEstimated reading time: 1 minute
In the 1980s, Electrochemicals, Inc. (now Electrochemical Products) made a significant shift from furniture and industrial goods to electronics and manufacturing. During this journey, a tin-nickel plating alloy was developed. In 1984, Mike Carano, a young engineer, published a paper on tin-nickel plating alloy, but after some initial attention, the plating solution fell into obscurity.
Today, PCB fabrication looks largely the same, yet changes are afoot, chiefly due to the demands for very fine feature capability on printed circuit boards, as well as environmental sustainability. So, in this fascinating conversation with Mike Carano and Happy Holden, we take another look at tin-nickel and its advantages in both performance and sustainability.
Marcy LaRont: Mike, please explain the unique metal properties of the tin-nickel alloy and why fabricators should consider this as a surface finish solution today.
Mike Carano: Tin-nickel is a metastable alloy. It is monatomic, meaning that no matter what you do with the chemistry or how you manipulate the grams per liter of one metal or the other (or the amps per square foot), it always comes out as 65% of one metal and 35% of the other. I’m not aware this is true with any other combination of metals.
Typically, if your chemistry is out of balance—if you have more tin in the solution than you have lead—you will plate more tin. It’s precisely why there are so many alloys out there. In that respect, tin-nickel is pretty amazing.
Happy Holden: When I was at Hewlett-Packard, Dr. Morton Adler from Bell Labs called me and said he wanted us to fab his boards using tin-nickel, because he knew we were using it. I plated the boards with tin-nickel and added a gold strike. This thin gold was cobalt-hardened and the final thickness was still only 3–5 microinches when we finished. About a month after I sent them back to Adler, I got another call. He said, “What the hell did you send me? We’ve completed our reliability testing and your 3–5 microinches on tin-nickel outperforms our 120 microinches of sulfamate nickel on our contacts and other relays.”
Continue reading this conversation in the November 2024 issue of PCB007 Magazine.
Share on:
Testimonial
"We’re proud to call I-Connect007 a trusted partner. Their innovative approach and industry insight made our podcast collaboration a success by connecting us with the right audience and delivering real results."
Julia McCaffrey - NCAB GroupSuggested Items
Indium Corporation Earns Mexico Technology Award for New Halogen-Free Flux-Cored Wire
09/18/2025 | Indium CorporationIndium Corporation recently earned a Mexico Technology Award for its new high-reliability, halide- and halogen-free flux-cored wire, CW-807RS, which improves wetting speeds and cycle times for electronics assembly and robot soldering applications.
Anyon Systems Becomes Anchor Partner in Industrial Quantum Chip Fabrication Facility
09/18/2025 | PRNewswireAnyon Systems Inc., a quantum computing company based in Montreal, Canada and the MiQro Innovation Collaborative Centre (C2MI) are pleased to announce they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) confirming their collaboration in developing the value offering of C2MI's industrial grade new quantum fabrication facility located in Bromont, Québec.
Transforming the Industry: Advint's Mission in Metallization
09/18/2025 | Marcy LaRont, PCB007 MagazineWith three decades of experience in engineering, research, and operations in blue-chip organizations, including Boeing and Honeywell, Venkat Raja has developed a passion for electroplating. In 2018, he founded Advint Incorporated, an electroplating advisory and training services firm dedicated to solving operational challenges, enhancing efficiency, and providing specialized training programs.
Technica USA Advocates for PCBAA Membership Among Printed Circuit Assembly Customers
09/16/2025 | Technica USATechnica USA is actively encouraging its printed circuit assembly customers to join the Printed Circuit Board Association of America (PCBAA), a leading industry organization advocating for increased domestic production of printed circuit boards (PCBs) and substrates.
Curing and Verification in PCB Shadow Areas
09/17/2025 | Doug Katze, DymaxDesign engineers know a simple truth that often complicates electronics manufacturing: Light doesn’t go around corners. In densely populated PCBs, adhesives and coatings often fail to fully cure in shadowed regions created by tall ICs, connectors, relays, and tight housings.