Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Tin whiskers were noticed and documented in the vacuum tube era of electronics early in the 20th century in equipment that used pure, or almost pure, tin solder in their production. It was noticed that small metal hairs or tendrils grew between metal solder pads, causing short circuits. Metal whiskers form in the presence of compressive stress.
Whiskers are used in some composites, but large-scale fabrication of defect-free whiskers is very difficult. Prior to the discovery of carbon nanotubes , single-crystal whiskers had the highest tensile strength of any materials known, and were featured regularly in science fiction as materials for fabrication of space elevators , arcologies ...
The mechanisms for catalyst-free growth of nanowires (or whiskers) were known from 1950s. [18] The simplest methods to obtain metal oxide nanowires use ordinary heating of the metals, e.g. metal wire heated with battery, by Joule heating in air [19] can be easily done at home.
Metal whiskers differ from metallic dendrites in several respects. Dendrites are fern -shaped like the branches of a tree, and grow across the surface of the metal. In contrast, whiskers are fibrous and project at a right angle to the surface of growth, or substrate.
Schematic of field desorption ionization with emitter at left and mass spectrometer at right. Field desorption (FD) is a method of ion formation used in mass spectrometry (MS) in which a high-potential electric field is applied to an emitter with a sharp surface, such as a razor blade, or more commonly, a filament from which tiny "whiskers" have formed.
Another potential problem that some lead-free, high tin-based solders may face is the growth of tin whiskers. These thin strands of tin can grow and make contact with an adjacent trace, developing a short circuit. Lead in the solder suppresses the growth of tin whiskers.
French (top) and balloon whisks. Balloon whisks are bulbous; French whisks are longer and narrower. A whisk is a cooking utensil which can be used to blend ingredients smooth or to incorporate air into a mixture, in a process known as whisking or whipping.
Tin whiskers are elongated or needle-like structures of pure tin that grow from pure tin and tin alloy surfaces. Toyota's APPS were found to use tin finishes. These tin finishes can produce conductive tin whiskers capable of creating unintended electrical failures such as short circuits.