Micro Laser Soldering
What is Micro Soldering
Traditionally, two similar or dissimilar wires were joined by either welding them (melting them together) or soldering them (using a metal with a lower melting point). But what exactly is micro soldering? Micro soldering involves joining ultra-fine wires, which can be as small as 9 microns (5-10 times thinner than a human hair). In today’s world, there is a growing demand for miniaturized and microscopic components, such as sensors and transducers. Manufacturing these components requires the ability to join ultra-fine wires, which presents challenges that traditional welding and soldering methods cannot overcome.
Ultra-fine wires are often used to wind coils for state-of-the-art micro-motion control and positioning systems. However, joining ultra-fine wires is a complex task, especially when the size and shape of the final component are constrained by various physical and environmental factors and strict tolerance requirements. Traditional methods are no longer suitable for joining ultra-fine wires.
Traditional Methods
The following are some of the traditional methods for joining wires:
- Soldering by applying an external heat source to the joint along with a filler metal.
- Welding by applying an electric current to melt the metals to be joined.
All of these methods either cannot be used at all due to physics constraints, or they introduce other issues, such as:
- Imprecise heat spread that destroys the wires
- Oxidation of the wires and surrounding area
- Physical strain and degradation of the reliability of the connection
The ultimate answer to all these connectivity challenges was found in the form of an innovative thermo-pressure bonding technology recently developed by Benatav. Thermo-pressure bonding technology allows us to connect ultra-fine wires to other ultra-fine wires where either both are similar in diameter and material, or where one wire may be up to 12 times as thick as the other wire and/or a different type of metal.
Examples of Connections
Thermo-pressure bonding can connect:
- Miniature copper thermocouples to ultra-fine wires
- Metal to metal connections of micro-coils to a printed circuit board using thicker intermediate wires
- Micro coils to a support system using metal-plated terminals
The molecular connections formed by thermo-pressure bonding technology provide highly reliable, corrosion-free, and strain-free joins. Moreover, this process is more economical than traditional soldering or welding, resulting in lower manufacturing costs. Thermo-pressure bonding has been extensively tested in various customer environments and implemented in several production processes, proving its readiness for integration into mass-production processes while meeting the high standards required by medical applications. It is suitable for both disposable and long-life products, including permanent implants.
Applications
The following is a list of some applications that benefit from micro coil and ultra-fine wire connectivity technology:
- Active implants—monitoring or control of implanted pace-makers, or deep brain stimulation components, for example, pain management devices
- herapeutic applications—devices in electro-physiology treatments, (cardiac or neural), or electricity-based ablations, (microwave and RF)
- Navigation and orientation sensors—targeted drug delivery, targeted radiation catheters, stent positioning, highly accurate ablations, implanted markers, and endoscopic manipulation
- Orthopedic an dental treatment using pulsed electromagnets
- Diagnostic—wireless communication with miniature sensor implants, whether physiological (blood pressure or heartbeat), or flow (blood or respiration)
The Future of Ultra-Fine Wire Technologies
Utilizing innovative ultra-fine wire technologies opens up a vast range of possibilities for designers of miniaturized medical equipment and other industries. As the need to access high-density body regions while minimizing interference with regular bodily functions grows, miniaturization becomes crucial in medical devices to reduce energy consumption and prolong the lifespan of implanted components. A miniature coil manufactured by Benatav, for instance, can serve as a navigation component in a cardio-vascular catheter used for cardiac ablation. This example showcases the benefits of using Benatav’s thermo-pressure technology to mass-produce high-quality miniature components at a reasonable cost.
As designers become more aware of micro soldering, we foresee that these advanced technologies and the variety of applications that can use them, their use will become increasingly widespread. Call Benatav on +972-3-9345951 to discuss how our thermo-pressure technology can benefit your business.
