Copper | Electrically and thermally conductive

Copper is a great material for industry and construction. The material is known for its excellent electrical and thermal conductivityIn the construction industry, copper is valued for its durability and corrosion resistance, while in the electrical industry it is wiring and components is indispensable. Its versatility and reliability make copper an indispensable material in numerous technical applications.

Content

• Efficient material for the next generation of power electronics
• Copper as infinitely recyclable for sustainable building
• Copper-based alloy wires with good electrical conductivity

Efficient material for the next generation of power electronics

20.10.2020 | Heraeus Electronics introduces a new material for the next generation of power electronics. The Powercusoft product family is being expanded to include a copper bonding ribbon. This allows power modules to be designed and manufactured more reliably, effectively and cost-effectively.

Powercusoft Ribbon was developed for the surface contacting of power semiconductors with a wide band gap, so-called Wide Bandgap Semiconductors, based on Silicon carbide SiC optimized. With this generation of bonding tapes, the full potential of the new SiC chips can be exploited.

Power electronics with copper versus aluminum

Copper offers better thermal, electrical and mechanical properties than aluminum wires and aluminum ribbons. Copper heats up less than aluminum and can withstand higher temperatures in power electronics.

That extends the Lifespan and improves the reliability of power electronics. The new copper material can withstand temperatures of up to 250 ° C. In tests, copper ribbons lasted ten to twenty times longer than aluminum - with a simultaneous increase in the energy density in the module.

"SiC semiconductors are in the fast lane due to their high power density" says Christian Kersting, Product Manager Power Bonding Wires at Heraeus Electronics. "In order to be able to use the advantages of these products, module manufacturers need powerful assembly and connection technologies."

Compared to copper wires, ribbons are cheaper because one ribbon replaces several copper wires. Manufacturers can optimize the manufacturing costs per module with increasing output. Depending on Module design it is even possible to produce twice as many modules per hour.

Copper as infinitely recyclable for sustainable building

20.01.2020 | Copper is an efficient material when building planners are looking for a sustainable material. Important changes to the European environmental certification now recognize, according to. German copper institute the contribution that copper can make to the circular economy. The amendments to EN 2019 published in October 15804 contain core product category rules (PCRs) for Type III environmental declarations for each construction product and work.

The standard describes which phases in the product life cycle are taken into account in the EPD (Environmental Product Declaration). It is now mandatory to consider the end of the product life cycle and to report the additional benefits and burdens resulting from reuse or Recycling of end-of-life products result.

This modification of the standard will help reduce the environmental impact of copper and others metals to anchor them more firmly in the market at the end of their service life and to position them as sustainable solutions for construction applications.

Recycling champion copper unbeatable

The standard uses a modular approach for the phases in the product life cycle.

• Production (module A)
• in use (module B)
• End-of-life phase (module C) 
• End-of-life recycling (module D)

In the new standard, the compulsory module D gives an overview of the recycling performance and the benefits for the entire product life cycle. The module is therefore a key element in supporting an environmentally friendly circular economy in the construction sector.

Copper has an infinite lifespan. This renewable metal can be recycled over and over again without losing its properties. Copper recycling saves considerable abiotic resources and enormous amounts of energy. Copper requires 85% less energy than primary production. With the current focus on resource efficiency and recycling, recycling aspects must be taken into account in the environmental product declaration (EPD).

Copper remains the material of choice

The revised standard contains many improvements and significant changes for working with EPDs as an important next step. This promotes the use of recyclable building materials made of metals such as tin, zinc, brass, iron, bronze, aluminum, silver or alloys. The effects and benefits of recycling and reclaiming or reusing building materials are taken into account. Copper remains as a sustainable and exemplary recyclable metal for many areas of application material the first choice.

Copper-based alloy wires with good electrical conductivity

22.03.2016 | For certain tasks, wires with high electrical conductivity and at the same time high strength properties are required. Wires made of pure copper, the best of all industrially used conductors, are generally not suitable for this because their mechanical strength is too low. Wires made of “ISA-CON” from Isabellenhütte, which optimally combines both properties.

The brand name ISA-CON stands for copper-based alloys that are manufactured in the form of wires. The production program currently focuses on the material types ISA-CON414 and ISA-CON1000. The designations consist of the brand name and the minimum tensile strength in MPa*.

Both alloys have a significantly higher tensile strength than copper with 200 MPa, whereby the tensile strength of the wires made of ISA-CON1000 is even significantly higher than that of wires made of copper-coated stainless steel “Staku”, which is around 700 MPa. The other important property is the electrical conductivity: for pure copper it is 58 x 10⁶ S / m, which equates to 100% IACS (International Annealed Copper Standard). The ISA-CON 414 material comes very close to copper when annealed with 90% IACS, and the ISA-CON1000 high-strength material, with 60% IACS, is also well above the widely used Staku wires with 40% IACS.

ISA-CON414 is a RoHSThe material can replace similar materials that contain cadmium. It meets the requirements of the ASTM B624 standard (“Standard Specification for High-Strength, High-Conductivity Copper-Alloy Wire for Electronic Application”). The high-strength material ISA-CON1000 contains the alloying elements silver and zirconium.

Wires made of both materials can high tensile loads They absorb elastically, are very hard, are corrosion-resistant and retain their properties even at high temperatures over long periods of use. Another advantage for certain tasks is that the wires can be coated with nickel, tin or silver.

Wires made of ISA-CON are supplied in the form of round wires and strands with a diameter of 0,05 to 0,3 mm. Wires made of ISA-CON414 are also available as Pre-drawn wire with 0,80 to 1,20 mm. Typical areas of application are signal and overhead lines for railways and automotive cables. Under pressure to save space and weight, the automotive industry, among others, demands conductor wires with the smallest possible diameter, but which at the same time must reliably meet ever higher requirements in terms of load capacity and required service life. The same applies to the contact elements for plugs and switches, which are also made of wire.

Source: This article is based on information from the following companies: German Copper Institute, Heraeus, Isabellenhütte.