Method for modifying surface of electric contact based on PII-IBED technology

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of electric contact preparation surface modification, in particular to a method for modifying the surface of an electric contact based on a PII-IBED technology. According to the method, the PIII-IBED technology is innovatively used for surface modification of the electric contact piece, low-energy metal ions generated by the ion beam enhanced deposition technology are gently deposited on the surface of a material to form a preliminarily modified deposition film, microscopic surface defects and uneven positions are filled, the actual contact area is increased when the electric contact piece forms electric contact, and the contact quality of the electric contact piece is improved. The method comprises the following steps of: firstly, carrying out primary modification on a deposited film, ensuring more excellent arc extinguishing performance and electric contact life in subsequent application, and then bombarding the primarily modified deposited film by utilizing high-energy inert gas plasma generated by a plasma immersion technology, so that injected ions collide with deposited atoms, have certain energy and are uniformly deposited on the surface of a substrate, and thus the surface of the substrate is protected. And the deposition layer is uniform and compact, has no pinholes, and is firmly combined with the substrate.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of surface modification of electric contact parts, and in particular to a method for surface modification of electric contact parts based on PIII-IBED technology. Background Art

[0002] Electrical contacts are key components of relays, and are mainly responsible for connecting, disconnecting, conducting, and isolating currents. Their performance directly affects the reliability, stability, and service life of relays. With the development of industrial modernization, higher and higher requirements are placed on the surface performance of various electrical contacts. Some contacts working under special conditions such as high temperature, high voltage load, and corrosive media often suffer from local damage to their surfaces, which in turn affects the operation of electrical appliances. For this reason, surface modification technology has received great attention.

[0003] At present, the commonly used surface modification technologies in the field of electrical contacts are plasma cleaning, magnetic polishing, hydrocarbon degreasing, electroplating, etc. The inventors have found that after the above processes, there are often many tiny pits on the surface of the electrical contact, and in the actual service process of the material, the surface between the contacts is rough and uneven. When two metals are in contact, only part of the rough surface of the material is effectively in contact, and there is an oxide film on the contact surface, resulting in the actual contact area being reduced again on this basis, with only tiny metal contact spots, and the contact area has a crucial influence on the arc extinguishing performance and electrical contact life of the material in the service process. Summary of the invention

[0004] The purpose of the present invention is to overcome the shortcomings and deficiencies of the prior art and to provide a method for surface modification of an electrical contact based on the PIII-IBED technology.

[0005] The technical solution adopted by the present invention is as follows: a method for surface modification of an electrical contact based on PIII-IBED technology, the method comprising the following steps:

[0006] (1) Preparation of electrical contacts: preparing electrical contacts with a specific shape using a substrate, and annealing the material;

[0007] (2) Post-processing step: removing grease and dirt from the surface of the electrical contact prepared in step (1);

[0008] (3) Ion beam enhanced deposition (IBED) of electrical contacts: The electrical contacts cleaned in step (2) are placed as substrates in a vacuum chamber of an ion beam implanter, evacuated, and a vaporizable metal material is used as a cathode ion source target material, evaporated and heated to a sublimation temperature, and the surface-modified metal is bombarded with a heated electron beam to form an ion beam, which is deposited on the substrate surface, thereby preliminarily modifying the surface of the electrical contacts to form a deposited film;

[0009] (4) Plasma immersion of electrical contacts (PIII): The electrical contacts that have been preliminarily modified in step (3) are placed in a vacuum chamber, evacuated, and introduced with an inert gas to ionize the inert gas into plasma, which is then bombarded toward the deposited film formed in step (3) under the electric field force generated by the pulse voltage.

[0010] The electrical contact parts such as the electrical contact head and contact piece of the electrical contact of the present invention can be in specific shapes such as rivets, sheets, and special-shaped materials. The substrate for preparing the electrical contact of the present invention in step (1) includes wires, sheets, tubes, etc., and the material types include electrical contact materials such as AgSnO2, AgCdO, AgNi, and AgCuO.

[0011] In step (3), the gasifiable metal material may be one or more commonly used gasifiable metal materials such as Ag, Au, Al, Sn, etc.

[0012] Preferably, in step (1), the annealing process is performed at 200-400° C. and is performed under the protection of hydrogen or nitrogen.

[0013] Preferably, in step (2), the electrical contact is processed using a magnetic polisher and a hydrocarbon cleaner to remove grease and dirt.

[0014] Preferably, in step (3), the vacuum degree of the vacuum chamber of the ion beam implanter is 10-2-10-4 Pa, and the flow rate of the inert gas during the deposition process is 10-20 sccm.

[0015] Preferably, in step (3), the ion beam incident angle is 30-80°, the outlet diameter is φ20-φ50 mm, the discharge current is 0-300 MA, and the acceleration voltage is an adjustable voltage of 0-2000 V.

[0016] Preferably, in step (3), the ion beam bombardment time is 5-15 minutes, and when the film deposition thickness reaches 100-200 nm, the ion source is turned off.

[0017] Preferably, in step (3), the sample stage loaded with the electrical contact rotates at a rate of 3-5 r / min, and the substrate sheet rotates on the sample stage at a rate of about 20-30 r / min.

[0018] Preferably, in step (4), the sample is first cleaned using alcohol ultrasonic cleaning for 5-15 minutes before being placed in the vacuum chamber.

[0019] Preferably, in step (4), after being placed in a vacuum chamber, the vacuum is evacuated to less than 1×10-2-5×10-2.

[0020] Preferably, in step (4), the injection voltage is 20-30 KV, the gas flow rate is 40-60 ml / min, the gas pressure is 0.5-0.9 MPa, the input pulse width is 10-30 μs, and the injection time is 30-60 min.

[0021] The present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0022] 1. The present invention can conveniently prepare a surface alloy with a certain composition on the surface of the electrical contact, effectively fill the pores on the surface of the electrical contact, optimize the surface performance regardless of the substrate performance and shape, perform ion implantation under low temperature conditions without any obvious dimensional change, and the manufactured surface alloy has no adhesion problem.

[0023] 2. The present invention innovatively utilizes the PIII-IBED technology for the surface modification of electrical contacts, and utilizes the low-energy metal ions generated by the ion beam enhanced deposition technology to gently deposit on the material surface to form a preliminary modified deposited film, fill microscopic surface defects and unevenness, and increase the actual contact area when the electrical contact forms electrical contact, thereby ensuring better arc extinguishing performance and electrical contact life in subsequent applications, and then utilizes the plasma immersion technology to generate high-energy inert gas plasma to bombard the preliminary modified deposited film, so that the injected ions collide with the deposited atoms and have a certain energy and are uniformly deposited on the substrate surface, so that the deposited layer is uniform and dense, without pinholes, and is firmly bonded to the substrate.

[0024] 3. The present invention can partially change the material properties without sacrificing the overall performance, can control the concentration depth, can exceed the limit of solid solubility, and achieve the effect of changing the alloy composition by screening. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, without paying creative labor, other drawings obtained based on these drawings still belong to the scope of the present invention.

[0026] Figure 1 A flow chart of a method for surface modification of electrical contacts based on PIII-IBED technology. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] In order to make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more clear, the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0028] Embodiment 1:

[0029] A method for surface modification of electrical contacts based on PIII-IBED technology, the specific steps are as follows:

[0030] Step (1), preparation of electrical contacts: using different AgSnO2 wires to prepare AgSnO2 / Cu-based composite rivets, and annealing the rivets at a temperature of 300°C.

[0031] Step (2) post-processing process: the annealed rivets are placed in the polishing liquid of a magnetic polisher for primary cleaning, and after drying, are placed in a hydrocarbon cleaning instrument for secondary cleaning, using its unique volatility to remove grease and dirt on the surface of the rivets, thereby restoring the original cleanliness and gloss of the material.

[0032] Step (3), ion beam enhanced deposition (IBED) of electrical contacts: the electrical contacts cleaned in step (2) are placed as targets in a vacuum chamber of an ion beam implanter and evacuated to a vacuum degree of 10 -2 Pa, the cathode ion source metal is Ag. The experimental parameters are set as follows: the sample stage rotates at a rate of 3r / min, and the substrate rotates on the sample stage at a rate of 20r / min. The ion beam incident angle is 30°, the ion extraction port diameter is φ20mm, the discharge current is 100mA, and the acceleration voltage is 1000V. The ion beam bombardment time is 5min. The ionization effect of cathode field emission causes discharge in the discharge chamber to generate ions. The ions bombard the cathode to generate secondary electrons. The secondary electrons are emitted to the opposite reflective cathode under the action of the external axial magnetic field and the anode voltage. The electrons oscillate back and forth between the two cathodes. The extraction system extracts the ions in the plasma from the small holes on the cathode. When the thickness counter of the thin film deposition instrument shows 100nm, turn off the ion source to complete the preliminary modification of the surface of the electrical contact.

[0033] Step (4), plasma immersion of electrical contacts (PIII): The electrical contacts preliminarily modified in step (3) were cleaned with alcohol ultrasonic for 5 min, and then inert gas Ar was introduced. The samples were sputtered and cleaned with inert ions, and then placed in a vacuum chamber and evacuated to 1×10 -2 , the inert gas is ionized into plasma by glow discharge method, and the test parameters are as follows: the incident target material is set to nitrogen, the injection voltage is 20KV, the gas flow rate is 40ml / min, the gas pressure is 0.5Mpa, the input pulse width is 10μs, the injection time is 30min, and the program is started to bombard the deposited film in step (3) under the electric field force generated by the pulse voltage, so that the injected ions collide with the deposited atoms and have a certain energy and are uniformly deposited on the substrate surface, so that the deposited layer is uniform and dense, without pinholes, and is firmly bonded to the substrate.

[0034] Step (5), finished product inspection and packaging: the finished product appearance and thickness are inspected in a clean room. After the inspection, the finished product is vacuum packaged to ensure surface cleanliness.

[0035] Embodiment 2:

[0036] A method for surface modification of electrical contacts based on PIII-IBED technology, the specific steps are as follows:

[0037] Step (1), preparation of electrical contacts: using different AgCdO sheets to prepare AgSnO2 / Cu-based composite sheets, and annealing the sheets at a temperature of 350°C.

[0038] Step (2), post-treatment process: the annealed sheet is placed in the polishing liquid of a magnetic polisher for primary cleaning, and after drying, is placed in a hydrocarbon cleaning instrument for secondary cleaning, using its unique volatility to remove grease and dirt on the surface of the sheet, so that the sheet can restore its original cleanliness and glossiness.

[0039] Step (3), ion beam enhanced deposition (IBED) of electrical contacts: the electrical contacts cleaned in step (2) are placed as targets in a vacuum chamber of an ion beam implanter and evacuated to a vacuum degree of 10 -3 Pa, the cathode ion source metal is Au. The experimental parameters are set as follows: the sample stage rotates at a rate of 4r / min, and the substrate rotates on the sample stage at a rate of 30r / min. The ion beam incident angle is 50°, the ion extraction port diameter is φ30mm, the discharge current is 150mA, and the acceleration voltage is 1500V. The ion beam bombardment time is 10min. The ionization effect of cathode field emission is used to cause discharge in the discharge chamber to generate ions. The ions bombard the cathode to generate secondary electrons. The secondary electrons are emitted to the opposite reflective cathode under the action of the external axial magnetic field and the anode voltage. The electrons oscillate back and forth between the two cathodes. The extraction system extracts the ions in the plasma from the small holes on the cathode. When the thickness counter of the thin film deposition instrument shows 150nm, turn off the ion source to complete the preliminary modification of the surface of the electrical contact.

[0040] Step (4), plasma immersion of electrical contacts (PIII): The electrical contacts preliminarily modified in step (3) were cleaned with alcohol ultrasonic for 10 min, and then inert gas N2 was introduced. The samples were sputtered and cleaned with inert ions and then placed in a vacuum chamber and evacuated to 2×10 -2, the inert gas is ionized into plasma by glow discharge method, and the test parameters are as follows: the incident target material is set to nitrogen, the injection voltage is 30KV, the gas flow rate is 50ml / min, the gas pressure is 0.6Mpa, the input pulse width is 15μs, the injection time is 40min, and the program is started to bombard the deposited film in step (3) under the electric field force generated by the pulse voltage, so that the injected ions collide with the deposited atoms and have a certain energy and are uniformly deposited on the substrate surface, so that the deposited layer is uniform and dense, without pinholes, and is firmly bonded to the substrate.

[0041] Step (5), finished product inspection and packaging: the finished product appearance and thickness are inspected in a clean room. After the inspection, the finished product is vacuum packaged to ensure surface cleanliness.

[0042] Embodiment three:

[0043] A method for surface modification of electrical contacts based on PIII-IBED technology, the specific steps are as follows:

[0044] Step (1), preparation of electrical contact materials: using different AgCuO wires to prepare AgCuO / CuAgCuO-based three-composite rivets, and annealing the rivets at a temperature of 400°C.

[0045] Step (2), post-processing process: the annealed rivets are placed in the polishing liquid of a magnetic polisher for primary cleaning, and after drying, are placed in a hydrocarbon cleaning instrument for secondary cleaning, using its unique volatility to remove grease and dirt on the surface of the rivets, so that the material can be restored to its original cleanliness and glossiness.

[0046] Step (3), ion beam enhanced deposition (IBED) of electrical contacts: the electrical contacts cleaned in step (2) are placed as targets in a vacuum chamber of an ion beam implanter and evacuated to a vacuum degree of 10 -4 Pa, the cathode ion source metal is Cu. The experimental parameters are set as follows: the sample stage rotates at a rate of 5r / min, and the substrate rotates on the sample stage at a rate of 40r / min. The ion beam incident angle is 60°, the ion extraction port diameter is φ40mm, the discharge current is 200mA, and the acceleration voltage is 2000V. The ion beam bombardment time is 15min. The ionization effect of cathode field emission causes discharge in the discharge chamber to generate ions. The ions bombard the cathode to generate secondary electrons. The secondary electrons are emitted to the opposite reflective cathode under the action of the external axial magnetic field and the anode voltage. The electrons oscillate back and forth between the two cathodes. The extraction system extracts the ions in the plasma from the small holes on the cathode. When the thickness counter of the thin film deposition instrument shows 200nm, turn off the ion source to complete the preliminary modification of the surface of the electrical contact.

[0047] Step (4), plasma immersion of electrical contacts (PIII): The electrical contacts preliminarily modified in step (3) were cleaned with alcohol ultrasonic for 15 min, and then inert gas N2 was introduced. The samples were sputtered and cleaned with inert ions and then placed in a vacuum chamber and evacuated to 3×10 -2 , the inert gas is ionized into plasma by glow discharge method, and the test parameters are as follows: the incident target material is set to nitrogen, the injection voltage is 40KV, the gas flow rate is 60ml / min, the gas pressure is 0.7Mpa, the input pulse width is 20μs, the injection time is 50min, and the program is started to bombard the deposited film in step (3) under the electric field force generated by the pulse voltage, so that the injected ions collide with the deposited atoms and have a certain energy and are uniformly deposited on the substrate surface, so that the deposited layer is uniform and dense, without pinholes, and is firmly bonded to the substrate.

[0048] Step (5), finished product inspection and packaging: the finished product appearance and thickness are inspected in a clean room. After the inspection, the finished product is vacuum packaged to ensure surface cleanliness.

[0049] The above disclosure is only the preferred embodiment of the present invention, which certainly cannot be used to limit the scope of the present invention. Therefore, equivalent changes made according to the claims of the present invention are still within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for surface modification of electrical contacts based on PIII-IBED technology, characterized in that: The method comprises the following steps: (1) Preparation of electrical contacts: preparing electrical contacts with a specific shape using a substrate, and annealing the material; (2) Post-processing step: removing grease and dirt from the surface of the electrical contact prepared in step (1); (3) Ion beam enhanced deposition (IBED) of electrical contacts: The electrical contacts cleaned in step (2) are placed as substrates in a vacuum chamber of an ion beam implanter, evacuated, and a vaporizable metal material is used as a cathode ion source target material, evaporated and heated to a sublimation temperature, and the surface-modified metal is bombarded with a heated electron beam to form an ion beam, which is deposited on the substrate surface, thereby preliminarily modifying the surface of the electrical contacts to form a deposited film; (4) Plasma immersion of electrical contacts (PIII): The electrical contacts that have been preliminarily modified in step (3) are placed in a vacuum chamber, evacuated, and introduced with an inert gas to ionize the inert gas into plasma, which is then bombarded toward the deposited film formed in step (3) under the electric field force generated by the pulse voltage.

2. A method for surface modification of electrical contacts based on PIII-IBED technology as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: In step (1), the annealing process is performed at 200-400° C. and under the protection of hydrogen or nitrogen.

3. The method for surface modification of electrical contacts based on PIII-IBED technology according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step (2), the electrical contact is processed using a magnetic polisher and a hydrocarbon cleaner to remove grease and dirt.

4. The method for surface modification of electrical contacts based on PIII-IBED technology according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step (3), the vacuum degree of the vacuum chamber of the ion beam implanter is 10 -2 -10 -4 Pa, and the inert gas flow rate during the deposition process is 10-20sccm.

5. The method for surface modification of electrical contacts based on PIII-IBED technology according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step (3), the ion beam incident angle is 30-80°, the outlet diameter is φ20-φ50 mm, the discharge current is 0-300 MA, and the acceleration voltage is an adjustable voltage of 0-2000 V.

6. The method for surface modification of electrical contacts based on PIII-IBED technology according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step (3), the ion beam bombardment time is 5-15 minutes, and when the film deposition thickness reaches 100-200 nm, the ion source is turned off.

7. The method for surface modification of electrical contacts based on PIII-IBED technology according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step (3), the sample stage loaded with the electrical contact rotates at a rate of 3-5 r / min, and the substrate sheet rotates on the sample stage at a rate of about 20-30 r / min.

8. The method for surface modification of electrical contacts based on PIII-IBED technology according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step (4), the sample is first cleaned using alcohol ultrasonic cleaning for 5-15 minutes before being placed in the vacuum chamber.

9. The method for surface modification of electrical contacts based on PIII-IBED technology according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step (4), after placing in a vacuum chamber, evacuate to less than 1×10 -2 -5×10 -2 .

10. The method for surface modification of electrical contacts based on PIII-IBED technology according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step (4), the injection voltage is 20-30 KV, the gas flow rate is 40-60 ml / min, the gas pressure is 0.5-0.9 MPa, the input pulse width is 10-30 μs, and the injection time is 30-60 min.

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