US3637917A - Hermetic high-current therminal for electronic devices - Google Patents

Hermetic high-current therminal for electronic devices Download PDF

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Publication number
US3637917A
US3637917A US122672A US3637917DA US3637917A US 3637917 A US3637917 A US 3637917A US 122672 A US122672 A US 122672A US 3637917D A US3637917D A US 3637917DA US 3637917 A US3637917 A US 3637917A
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insulating material
conductor
radius
copper layer
opening
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Expired - Lifetime
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US122672A
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William Lee Oates
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RCA Corp
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RCA Corp
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    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01B—CABLES; CONDUCTORS; INSULATORS; SELECTION OF MATERIALS FOR THEIR CONDUCTIVE, INSULATING OR DIELECTRIC PROPERTIES
    • H01B17/00—Insulators or insulating bodies characterised by their form
    • H01B17/26—Lead-in insulators; Lead-through insulators
    • H01B17/30—Sealing
    • H01B17/303—Sealing of leads to lead-through insulators
    • H01B17/305—Sealing of leads to lead-through insulators by embedding in glass or ceramic material

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to electronic devices, and in particular, relates to high-current terminal means for such devices.
  • a wide variety of high-current terminals are presently used in the electronics industry. Many of these terminals are alike, however, in that a metallic conductor extends through an insulating material, as glass, which fills an opening in a sleeve, or package header. Because such terminals are generally required to operate at relatively high temperatures, the metals selected for the conductor generally have a thermal expansion coefficient closely matching that of the insulating material; to this end, Kovar and No. 52 alloy (52 percent nickel, balance iron) are frequently used.
  • the conductor has a small copper core with a thermally matched sheath surrounding the core.
  • Yet another terminal employs a relatively large thermally matching core, with a thin copper sheet completely surrounding the thermally matched metal. But these and other terminals still suffer thermal matching and current handling capabilities.
  • This terminal is employed in radiofrequency devices.
  • This terminal has a conductor of a thermally matching metal extending through the insulating material.
  • the outer portions of the conductor are plated with a very thin layer of a noble metal, such as gold or silver, in order to improve the skin conductivity of the terminal.
  • a noble metal such as gold or silver
  • the high-current terminal of the present invention comprises a sleeve member having two opposed surfaces with an opening between the surfaces, and with the opening filled with an insulating material.
  • a metallic conductor extends through the insulating material and has end portions which extend away from each of the surfaces.
  • the conductor has a coefficient of thermal expansion closely matching that of the insulating material.
  • a relatively thick copper layer is disposed only on the end portions of the conductor.
  • FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the high-current terminal of the present invention.
  • FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional front view of the terminal of FIG. 1, taken along the lines 2-2.
  • the high-current terminal of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.
  • the terminal referred to generally as 10, includes a metal sleeve member 12 having opposed front and back surfaces 13 and 15, respectively, with an opening 14 between the two surfaces.
  • the dimensions of the sleeve member 12 are not critical.
  • the sleeve member may be 0.10 inch thick between the two surfaces 13 and 15, and the opening 14 may be between 0.07 and 0.09 inch in diameter.
  • an insulating material 16 fills the opening 14.
  • the insulating material comprises a glass such as Corning Standard numbers 7052 or 9010, which glasses have thermal expansion coefficients of 46 10"'/in./ C. and 89Xl0"/in./ C., respectively.
  • a metallic conductor 18 extends through and is sealed to the insulating material.
  • the conductor 18 has a thermal expansion coefficient which closely matches that of the insulating material 16.
  • the conductor comprises Kovar or No. 52 alloy, which metals have thermal expansion coefficients of 50X10"/in./ C. and 101 Xl0"/in./ C., respectively.
  • the conductor may be between 20.0 and 30.0 mils in radius, for example.
  • the conductor 18 also includes end portions 20 and 22 which extend away from the two surfaces of the sleeve 13 and 15, respectively.
  • the end portions 20 and 22 are coated with a relatively thick copper layer 24.
  • the thermally matched conductor 18 defines a first radius r, and the outer periphery of the copper layer 24 defines a second radius r, which shares a common origin with the first radius r
  • radius r be at least 10.0 percent greater than radius r,.
  • radius r is 20.0 mils
  • radius r is at least 22 mils, and preferably about 25.0 mils. Since the thermally matched conductor 18 will not normally have a radius (r less that 20.0 mils, then the term relatively thick" is intended to mean that the copper layer 24 is at least 2.0 mils thick, and preferably about 4.0 mils or thicker.
  • the sleeve member 12 may also have a relatively thick copper layer 26 deposited on the exposed surface thereof, which copper layer 26 is deposited on the sleeve member 12, during the preferred fabrication of the terminal 10, as described below.
  • the terminal 10 is joined to an electronic device package header 28.
  • the metal conductor 18 may be sealed in the insulating material 16, and the insulating material may be disposed in the opening 14 of the sleeve 12, by fabrication techniques which are well known in the art.
  • the relatively thick copper layer 24 may be deposited by any one of a variety of plating processes; for example, any electrolytic or electroless plating process.
  • the copper layer 26 on the sleeve 12 is deposited to provide additional heat dissipation capability.
  • the terminal 10 of the present invention provides a good thermal expansion matching between the metal conductor 18 and the insulating material 16.
  • the relatively thick copper layer which is disposed only on those portions 20 and 22 of the conductor 18 outside of the insulating material 16 provides a very high-current carrying capability; for example, a 5.0 mil copper layer on a 40.0 mil thermally matched conductor has about twice the current-handling capability of the 40.0 mil thermally matched conductor alone.
  • a high-current terminal comprising:
  • a sleeve member having two opposed surfaces and an opening between said surfaces
  • a terminal according to claim 2 wherein said metallic conductor comprises an iron-nickel-cobalt alloy.
  • a terminal according to claim 2 wherein said metallic conductor comprises 52 percent nickel, balance iron.
  • a high-current terminal comprising:
  • a sleeve member having two opposed surfaces with an opening between said surfaces
  • a cylindrical metallic conductor having a first radius extending through said insulating material with end portions extending away from each said surface, said conductor having a coefficient of thermal expansion closely matching that of said insulating material;
  • a uniform copper layer disposed only on said end portions of said conductor, the outer periphery of said copper layer defining a second radius having a common origin with said first radius; and wherein said second radius is at least 10.0 percent greater than said 5 first radius.

Abstract

A metallic conductor extends through an insulating material disposed in an opening of a sleeve and has an expansion coefficient closely matching that of the insulating material. A relatively thick copper layer is disposed only on the outer end portions of the conductor.

Description

United States Patent Oates [4 1 Jan. 25,1972
[54] HERMETIC HIGH-CURRENT 2,377,164 5/1945 THERMINAL FOR ELECTRONIC 232? 5:32; DEVICES 2,524,263 10/1950 [72] Inventor: William Lee Oates, Bernardsville, NJ. 2,835,826 Grieve at al l /1 2 M UX [73] Assignee: RCA Corporation FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS [22] Filed: Mar- 10, 19 912,115 5/1954 Germany ..174/152 GM [21] Appl' No; l22672 Primary Examiner-Laramie E. Askin Attorney-G. H. Brucstle [52] US. Cl ..174/l52 GM,174/50.61, 287/189.365 [51] Int. Cl. ..H0lb 17/26 [57] ABSTRACT [58] Field of A metallic conductor extends through an insulating material 287/189 3l3'/281 332 3 i 318 2 disposed in an opening ofa sleeve and has an expansion coeffi- T l45D 145 T cient closely matching that of the insulating material. A relatively thick copper layer is disposed only on the outer end por- [5 References Cited tions of the conductor.
UNITED STATES PATENTS 6 Claims 2 Drawing 1,265,665 5/1918 Jacoby ..287/l89.365
PATENTEDJANZSIBYZ 3.6375917 I N VENTOR.
M11151); L. Oates BY 11 TTOfP/VF Y HERMETIC HIGH-CURRENT THERMINAL FOR ELECTRONIC DEVICES BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to electronic devices, and in particular, relates to high-current terminal means for such devices.
A wide variety of high-current terminals are presently used in the electronics industry. Many of these terminals are alike, however, in that a metallic conductor extends through an insulating material, as glass, which fills an opening in a sleeve, or package header. Because such terminals are generally required to operate at relatively high temperatures, the metals selected for the conductor generally have a thermal expansion coefficient closely matching that of the insulating material; to this end, Kovar and No. 52 alloy (52 percent nickel, balance iron) are frequently used.
However, these metals suffer relatively poor current-handling capabilities; thus, they are often combined with highly conductive metals which are otherwise thermally mismatched with the insulating material. In one example, the conductor has a small copper core with a thermally matched sheath surrounding the core. Yet another terminal employs a relatively large thermally matching core, with a thin copper sheet completely surrounding the thermally matched metal. But these and other terminals still suffer thermal matching and current handling capabilities.
Another terminal, not rated for high-current use, is employed in radiofrequency devices. This terminal has a conductor of a thermally matching metal extending through the insulating material. The outer portions of the conductor are plated with a very thin layer of a noble metal, such as gold or silver, in order to improve the skin conductivity of the terminal. However, such RF terminals are not capable of high-current operation as are other prior art terminals, such as those described above.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The high-current terminal of the present invention comprises a sleeve member having two opposed surfaces with an opening between the surfaces, and with the opening filled with an insulating material. A metallic conductor extends through the insulating material and has end portions which extend away from each of the surfaces. The conductor has a coefficient of thermal expansion closely matching that of the insulating material. A relatively thick copper layer is disposed only on the end portions of the conductor.
THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the high-current terminal of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional front view of the terminal of FIG. 1, taken along the lines 2-2.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION The high-current terminal of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. The terminal, referred to generally as 10, includes a metal sleeve member 12 having opposed front and back surfaces 13 and 15, respectively, with an opening 14 between the two surfaces. The dimensions of the sleeve member 12 are not critical. By way of example, the sleeve member may be 0.10 inch thick between the two surfaces 13 and 15, and the opening 14 may be between 0.07 and 0.09 inch in diameter.
An insulating material 16 fills the opening 14. Preferably, the insulating material comprises a glass such as Corning Standard numbers 7052 or 9010, which glasses have thermal expansion coefficients of 46 10"'/in./ C. and 89Xl0"/in./ C., respectively. A metallic conductor 18 extends through and is sealed to the insulating material. The conductor 18 has a thermal expansion coefficient which closely matches that of the insulating material 16. Preferably, the conductor comprises Kovar or No. 52 alloy, which metals have thermal expansion coefficients of 50X10"/in./ C. and 101 Xl0"/in./ C., respectively. The conductor may be between 20.0 and 30.0 mils in radius, for example.
The conductor 18 also includes end portions 20 and 22 which extend away from the two surfaces of the sleeve 13 and 15, respectively. The end portions 20 and 22 are coated with a relatively thick copper layer 24. Noting FIG. 2, the thermally matched conductor 18 defines a first radius r,, and the outer periphery of the copper layer 24 defines a second radius r,, which shares a common origin with the first radius r In order that the terminal 10 can achieve an optimum current handling capability, it is preferable that radius r, be at least 10.0 percent greater than radius r,. Thus, if radius r, is 20.0 mils, then radius r is at least 22 mils, and preferably about 25.0 mils. Since the thermally matched conductor 18 will not normally have a radius (r less that 20.0 mils, then the term relatively thick" is intended to mean that the copper layer 24 is at least 2.0 mils thick, and preferably about 4.0 mils or thicker.
The sleeve member 12 may also have a relatively thick copper layer 26 deposited on the exposed surface thereof, which copper layer 26 is deposited on the sleeve member 12, during the preferred fabrication of the terminal 10, as described below. The terminal 10 is joined to an electronic device package header 28.
The metal conductor 18 may be sealed in the insulating material 16, and the insulating material may be disposed in the opening 14 of the sleeve 12, by fabrication techniques which are well known in the art. The relatively thick copper layer 24 may be deposited by any one of a variety of plating processes; for example, any electrolytic or electroless plating process. In addition, during the deposition of the copper layer 24, the copper layer 26 on the sleeve 12 is deposited to provide additional heat dissipation capability.
The terminal 10 of the present invention provides a good thermal expansion matching between the metal conductor 18 and the insulating material 16. In addition, the relatively thick copper layer which is disposed only on those portions 20 and 22 of the conductor 18 outside of the insulating material 16 provides a very high-current carrying capability; for example, a 5.0 mil copper layer on a 40.0 mil thermally matched conductor has about twice the current-handling capability of the 40.0 mil thermally matched conductor alone.
What is claimed is:
l. A high-current terminal comprising:
a sleeve member having two opposed surfaces and an opening between said surfaces;
an insulating material in said opening;
a metallic conductor extending through said insulating material with end portions extending away from each said surface, said conductor having a coefficient of thermal expansion closely matching that of said insulating material; and
a relatively thick copper layer disposed only on said end portions of said conductor.
2. A terminal according to claim 1 wherein said insulating material comprises glass.
3. A terminal according to claim 2 wherein said metallic conductor comprises an iron-nickel-cobalt alloy.
4. A terminal according to claim 2 wherein said metallic conductor comprises 52 percent nickel, balance iron.
5. A terminal according to claim 1 wherein said copper layer is at least 3.0 mils thick.
6. A high-current terminal comprising:
a sleeve member having two opposed surfaces with an opening between said surfaces;
an insulating material in said opening;
a cylindrical metallic conductor having a first radius extending through said insulating material with end portions extending away from each said surface, said conductor having a coefficient of thermal expansion closely matching that of said insulating material;
a uniform copper layer disposed only on said end portions of said conductor, the outer periphery of said copper layer defining a second radius having a common origin with said first radius; and wherein said second radius is at least 10.0 percent greater than said 5 first radius.

Claims (6)

1. A high-current terminal comprising: a sleeve member having two opposed surfaces and an opening between said surfaces; an insulating material in said opening; a metallic conductor extending through said insulating material with end portions extending away from each said surface, said conductor having a coefficient of thermal expansion closely matching that of said insulating material; and a relatively thick copper layer disposed only on said end portions of said conductor.
2. A terminal aCcording to claim 1 wherein said insulating material comprises glass.
3. A terminal according to claim 2 wherein said metallic conductor comprises an iron-nickel-cobalt alloy.
4. A terminal according to claim 2 wherein said metallic conductor comprises 52 percent nickel, balance iron.
5. A terminal according to claim 1 wherein said copper layer is at least 3.0 mils thick.
6. A high-current terminal comprising: a sleeve member having two opposed surfaces with an opening between said surfaces; an insulating material in said opening; a cylindrical metallic conductor having a first radius extending through said insulating material with end portions extending away from each said surface, said conductor having a coefficient of thermal expansion closely matching that of said insulating material; a uniform copper layer disposed only on said end portions of said conductor, the outer periphery of said copper layer defining a second radius having a common origin with said first radius; and wherein said second radius is at least 10.0 percent greater than said first radius.
US122672A 1971-03-10 1971-03-10 Hermetic high-current therminal for electronic devices Expired - Lifetime US3637917A (en)

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JP (1) JPS5136870B1 (en)
BE (1) BE780447A (en)
DE (1) DE2210885C3 (en)
IT (1) IT946646B (en)

Cited By (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3988053A (en) * 1975-01-20 1976-10-26 Dodenhoff John A Hermetic terminal
US4103416A (en) * 1975-10-21 1978-08-01 New Nippon Electric Co., Ltd. Method of manufacturing an hermatically sealed electrical terminal
US4461925A (en) * 1981-08-31 1984-07-24 Emerson Electric Co. Hermetic refrigeration terminal
US5227250A (en) * 1991-09-20 1993-07-13 Fifth Dimension Inc. Glass-to-metal seal
US20030099885A1 (en) * 2001-02-06 2003-05-29 Soo-Ryoung Kim Punched eletrode and rechargeable lithium battery using the same
US20040101746A1 (en) * 2002-11-27 2004-05-27 Quallion Llc Feedthrough assembly and method
US20040173370A1 (en) * 2002-05-16 2004-09-09 Zhijian Deng Hermetically sealed current conducting terminal assembly

Citations (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US1265665A (en) * 1914-04-08 1918-05-07 Gen Electric Leading-in conductor.
US2377164A (en) * 1942-02-06 1945-05-29 Callite Tungsten Corp Electrical assembly
US2431308A (en) * 1941-11-21 1947-11-25 Int Standard Electric Corp Arrangements for insulatingly leading electric conductors through metal casings
US2446277A (en) * 1945-09-24 1948-08-03 Eitel Mccullough Inc Glass to metal seal in electrical devices
US2524263A (en) * 1944-03-04 1950-10-03 Sylvania Electric Prod Composite metal insert
DE912115C (en) * 1934-05-09 1954-05-24 Porzellanfabrik Kahla Process for the production of high vacuum tight, electrically conductive bushings
US2885826A (en) * 1954-12-21 1959-05-12 British Thomson Houston Co Ltd Glass-to-metal seals

Patent Citations (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US1265665A (en) * 1914-04-08 1918-05-07 Gen Electric Leading-in conductor.
DE912115C (en) * 1934-05-09 1954-05-24 Porzellanfabrik Kahla Process for the production of high vacuum tight, electrically conductive bushings
US2431308A (en) * 1941-11-21 1947-11-25 Int Standard Electric Corp Arrangements for insulatingly leading electric conductors through metal casings
US2377164A (en) * 1942-02-06 1945-05-29 Callite Tungsten Corp Electrical assembly
US2524263A (en) * 1944-03-04 1950-10-03 Sylvania Electric Prod Composite metal insert
US2446277A (en) * 1945-09-24 1948-08-03 Eitel Mccullough Inc Glass to metal seal in electrical devices
US2885826A (en) * 1954-12-21 1959-05-12 British Thomson Houston Co Ltd Glass-to-metal seals

Cited By (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3988053A (en) * 1975-01-20 1976-10-26 Dodenhoff John A Hermetic terminal
US4103416A (en) * 1975-10-21 1978-08-01 New Nippon Electric Co., Ltd. Method of manufacturing an hermatically sealed electrical terminal
US4461925A (en) * 1981-08-31 1984-07-24 Emerson Electric Co. Hermetic refrigeration terminal
US5227250A (en) * 1991-09-20 1993-07-13 Fifth Dimension Inc. Glass-to-metal seal
US20030099885A1 (en) * 2001-02-06 2003-05-29 Soo-Ryoung Kim Punched eletrode and rechargeable lithium battery using the same
US20040173370A1 (en) * 2002-05-16 2004-09-09 Zhijian Deng Hermetically sealed current conducting terminal assembly
US6844502B2 (en) 2002-05-16 2005-01-18 Emerson Electric Co. Hermetically sealed current conducting terminal assembly
US20040101746A1 (en) * 2002-11-27 2004-05-27 Quallion Llc Feedthrough assembly and method

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
JPS5136870B1 (en) 1976-10-12
DE2210885C3 (en) 1978-12-07
DE2210885B2 (en) 1978-04-06
IT946646B (en) 1973-05-21
DE2210885A1 (en) 1972-09-21
BE780447A (en) 1972-07-03

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