One stop PCBA intelligent manufacturing manufacturer, today we will talk about the difference between gold plating and immersion plating in the production process of PCBA circuit boards? The difference between gold plating and immersion plating in the production process of PCBA circuit boards. In PCBA surface mount processing, the production of PCBA circuit boards is a crucial step. In order to meet different customer needs and application scenarios, circuit boards usually adopt various surface treatment processes, among which gold plating and immersion gold are two common processes. Although these two processes may sound similar, they actually have significant differences in multiple aspects.
The difference between gold plating and immersion plating in the production process of PCBA circuit boards
1、 Gold plating process
The gold plating process mainly involves uniformly attaching gold particles to the PCB board through electroplating. Due to the strong adhesion of the gold plating layer, it is commonly referred to as “hard gold”. For example, the commonly used memory module gold finger adopts this hard gold process because it has the characteristics of high hardness and good wear resistance.
In the gold plating process, it is usually necessary to first coat a layer of nickel and then a layer of gold. This metal layer structure is copper nickel gold. In addition to enhancing the adhesion of the gold layer, the nickel layer also plays a certain role in electromagnetic shielding due to its magnetic properties.
However, a potential issue with the gold plating process is that, as it is performed before the solder mask, there may be situations where the green oil is not cleaned thoroughly, which may affect the subsequent soldering and tinning processes.
2、 Sinking gold process
The gold deposition process is a method of generating a layer of gold coating on the solder pads of a PCB board through chemical oxidation-reduction reactions. Due to the relatively weak adhesion of this gold coating, it is commonly referred to as “soft gold”.
Unlike the gold plating process, the gold deposition process is carried out after the solder mask is made. Therefore, it is less susceptible to the influence of unclean green oil cleaning, making it easier to achieve good welding and soldering effects. In addition, the gold deposition process directly deposits gold on the copper skin, and the metal layer structure is copper gold without a nickel layer, so it does not have a magnetic shielding effect.
From the perspective of crystal structure, immersion gold is easier to weld than gold plating because the crystal structure of immersion gold is denser and less prone to oxidation, thereby reducing the risk of poor welding. In addition, the flatness of the circuit board after immersion in gold is usually better, which is an important advantage for boards with higher requirements.
In summary, gold plating and immersion gold have their own characteristics and application scenarios in the production of PCBA circuit boards. The gold plating process has advantages in situations where wear resistance and electromagnetic shielding are required due to its high adhesion and electromagnetic shielding properties; The immersion gold process is favored in demanding surface mount processing due to its excellent welding performance, flatness, and resistance to oxidation. When choosing which process to use, it is necessary to consider the specific product requirements and application scenarios comprehensively.
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