Electrical Resistivity, Aluminum

For many electronic and electrical appHcations, electrically conductive resias are required. Most polymeric resias exhibit high levels of electrical resistivity. Conductivity can be improved, however, by the judicious use of fillers eg, in epoxy, silver (in either flake or powdered form) is used as a filler. Sometimes other fillers such as copper are also used, but result in reduced efficiency. The popularity of silver is due to the absence of the oxide layer formation, which imparts electrical insulating characteristics. Consequently, metallic fibers such as aluminum are rarely considered for this appHcation. 

Piebaked anodes aie produced by molding petroleum coke and coal tar pitch binder into blocks typically 70 cm x 125 cm x 50 cm, and baking to 1000—1200°C. Petroleum coke is used because of its low impurity (ash) content. The more noble impurities, such as iron and siUcon, deposit in the aluminum whereas less noble ones such as calcium and magnesium, accumulate as fluorides in the bath. Coal-based coke could be used, but extensive and expensive prepurification would be required. Steel stubs seated in the anode using cast iron support the anodes (via anode rods) in the electrolyte and conduct electric current into the anodes (Fig. 3). Electrical resistivity of prebaked anodes ranges from 5-6 Hm anode current density ranges from 0.65 to 1.3 A/crn. ... 

BeryUia ceramics offer the advantages of a unique combination of high thermal conductivity and heat capacity with high electrical resistivity (9). Thermal conductivity equals that of most metals at room temperature, beryUia has a thermal conductivity above that of pure aluminum and 75% that of copper. Properties Ulustrating the utUity of beryUia ceramics are shown in Table 2. 

Borides have metallic characteristics such as high electrical conductivity and positive coefficients of electrical resistivity. Many of them, particularly the borides of metals of Groups 4 (IVB), 5 (VB), and 6 (VIB), the MB compounds of Groups 2(11) and 13(111), and the borides of aluminum and siUcon, have high melting points, great hardness, low coefficients of thermal expansion, and good chemical stabiUty. 

The material selected makes a difference too. For the same length and diameter, a wire made of copper has less resistance than a wire made of aluminum. A current-carrying wire warms because of electrical resistance. 

Aluminum has a low density it is a strong metal and an excellent electrical conductor. Although it is strongly reducing and therefore easily oxidized, aluminum is resistant to corrosion because its surface is passivated in air by a stable oxide film. The thickness of the oxide layer can be increased by making aluminum the anode of an electrolytic cell the result is called anodized aluminum. Dyes may be added to the dilute sulfuric acid electrolyte used in the anodizing process to produce surface layers with different colors. 

The anodic oxidation of sheet aluminum has been used for a long time to protect aluminum against corrosion by a well-adhering oxide layer. Porous oxide layers are formed if acid electrolytes are used that can redissolve the aluminum oxide (mostly sulfuric or phosphoric acid). A compact oxide layer is formed at the beginning of the electrolysis (Fig. 20.3). Simultaneously, the current decreases, due to the electric resistance of the oxide. Subsequently follows a process in which the oxide is redissolved by the acid, and the current increases until it reaches a steady state. The electrochemical oxidation continues to take place with formation of pores. At the end of a pore, where it has the largest curvature, the electric field has its largest gradient and the process of redisolution is fastest. 

The porcelain enameling industry consists of at least 116 plants enameling approximately 150 million square meters (150 km2) of steel, iron, aluminum, and copper each year (each coat of multiple coats is considered in this total). Porcelain enameling is the application of glass-like coatings to the metals mentioned above. The purpose of the coating is to improve resistance to chemicals, abrasion, and water, and to improve thermal stability, electrical resistance, and appearance. The coating... 

Tabic 8. Room temperature density (p, g/cm3) thermal conductivity (k, W/nvK) and electrical resistivity ( 2, microhm-cm) of various VGCF reinforced aluminum matrix composites. ... 

A production process has recently been implemented by IBM. The aim was to reduce the electrical resistance of the interconnects in their chip to about one-third of the values attainable using aluminum and at the same time increasing the resistance against electromigration. This was made possible by employing electrodeposition of copper in a Damascene method. The manufacturing sequence is presented in Figure 17.11. 

In a modified method known as Magnetherm process, sufficient aluminum oxide is added to melt this Ca2Si04 slag. This allows the products to be removed in the molten state and, in addition, heats the reactor by the electrical resistance of the slag. 

The coke for synthetic graphite is also calcined before further processing. It is calcined until a sample of —35 + 100 mesh material shows an electrical resistivity of less than 0.05 ohm-inch. The same type of calciners are used that are used to calcine coke for the aluminum industry (29). The calcined coke retains a major portion of the sulfur present in the green petroleum coke (1). Low-sulfur, green coke is preferred. 

The high electrical resistivity of aluminum oxide is believed to be the major reason why coatings continue to exhibit very strong adhesion to aluminium substrates even when localized corrosion is observed to occur. Therefore, by developing a pretreatment process for any metal substrate which produces a metal oxide with high electrical... 

---