De:   Coderre - JCCODERR BRMVM1
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CLASSIFICATION    NON-CLASSIFIE ( )       CONFIDENTIEL ( )
Objet:   goldfinish on PC boards

Gold is highly soluble in solder and should not affect the properties
of the solder joint if the concentration is below 3% (wt). This is
true if the gold is completely  dissolved in the solder and one does not
find a rich gold concentration at the interface. THis rich zone may
occur if the temperature cycle is such that the dissolution is not
complete. This should be verified by SEM cross-sectioning
Literature references are available upon request
At higher gold concentrations (either local or bulk), embrittlement
will occur

Merci/Regards
Directeur Ingenierie MLC / MLC ENG. MGR
Dept 881/23 BRMT (tel. 514-534-6591, US tieline 552)
INTERNET ADDRESS [log in to unmask]
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