ISSN:
0142-2421
Keywords:
Chemistry
;
Polymer and Materials Science
Source:
Wiley InterScience Backfile Collection 1832-2000
Topics:
Physics
Notes:
The soft Reed consists of two Au coated Fe/Ni blades sealed in a glass tube filled with nitrogen. The desired properties of the contact area of the Reed blades (hardness, contact resistance etc. …) can be obtained either by diffusion-annealing (in vacuum or in an inert atmosphere) or by ‘arcing’ and ‘furbishing’. In this paper the compositional changes of the contact layer, resulting from diffusion annealing are related to the annealing time and temperature, and compared with those obtained by ‘arcing’ and ‘furbishing’. Arcing and furbishing are performed in the sealed Reed switch in which a glow discharge is ignited by applying an alternating tension between the blades, first when the blades are stationary, without making contact (arcing), and second when the switch is activated intermittantly (furbishing). The modifications of the surface composition, due to arcing and furbishing are compared with those obtained by annealing in nitrogen or in nitrogen/oxygen mixtures. A possible relation between the surface composition of arced and furbished Reed switches and the measured contact resistance is examined. These investigations are performed using SEM and AES techniques.
Additional Material:
16 Ill.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/sia.740080504
