Highly Conductive and Formable Copper Alloys

The constant evolution of electronic devices drives the need for the development of new materials. Connectors, central components in modern devices, require a material with the resilience of steel, the conductivity and formability of copper, and the corrosion resistance of gold at a low cost. No material currently exists that meets all these demands, but materials have been designed to optimize specific properties to fit applications. In response to the challenge for new electronic materials, Materion – Performance Alloys and Composites has developed a new series of copper alloys, QMet™, that features excellent formability with increased conductivity, while maintaining strength. QMet™ 200 is a CuNiCrSi alloy with a yield strength of 85 KSI, a conductivity of 50%IACS and a bend formability of 0.2/0.2 MBR/t both ways. QMet™ 300 is a CuCrAg alloy in the QMet™ family, with a better r conductivity (80%IACS) and bend formability 0/0 MBR/t both ways), but at a lower yield strength of 75 KSI. Both QMet™ strip alloys described here are lean and depend on unique thermal-mechanical processing to keep grain and precipitate sizes small, so that conductivity and formability are simultaneously maintained. The microstructural evolution of both alloys will be discussed in detail. Key connector properties of QMet™ will be compared to other available alloys.