Cleaning Q&A: Cleaning Beryllium Copper for High Vacuum
How to clean beryllium copper of hydrocarbons.
#vacuum-vapor
Share
Q. I would like your input for cleaning beryllium copper to be used in an ultra high vacuum systems. I have access to ultrasonic tanks, DI water systems and more. Is there a procedure to follow to remove hydrocarbons?
A. I do not have any direct experience in the cleaning of beryllium copper, however, beryllium forms oxides very readily (similar to aluminum). A beryllium copper alloy will also include a small amount of beryllium oxide that will reform on the surface in air and cannot be reduced in even the best vacuum systems. So I will assume that you are not interested in effectively and permanent removing any oxide that may be present, but only organic residues.
For oil removal, it is best to use a solution that will mitigate the potential formation of copper oxides since these will be chemically reduced in an ultrahigh vacuum. A highly caustic aqueous cleaner, with a significant amount of dissolved oxygen will tend to oxidize the copper portion of the beryllium copper alloy. Measures typically taken to clean copper are to use solvent cleaning or an aqueous cleaner with moderate alkalinity which will effectively remove processing lubricants while minimizing excessive oxidation. The use of the equipment mentioned above (ultrasonic tanks and deionized water systems) will enhance and/or shorten the overall cleaning process.
Originally published in the October 2015 issue.
RELATED CONTENT
-
Plastics and Plating on Plastics [1944]
This republished 1944 AES convention paper presents an historic perspective of the early days of plastics in surface finishing - using them and plating on them, in the waning years of World War II. The discussion reviews the uses of plastics in plating equipment and processing at that time, as well as the coating of the plastics themselves, with accompanying application photos. You will note that today’s conventional plating-on-plastics processes lay far in the future. Surprisingly, CVD processes are discussed.
-
An Overview of Hard Chromium Plating Using Trivalent Chromium Solutions
For more than forty years, academic and industrial researchers from all over the world have taken a strong interest in alternative processes for hard chromium plating using hexavalent ions. The benefits of substitute processes are obvious, as the toxic and carcinogenic aspects of hexavalent chromium are well known.
-
Vacuum Deposition Processes
The deposition of a film or coating in a vacuum (or low-pressure plasma) environment. Generally, the term is applied to processes that deposit atoms or molecules one at a time, such as in physical vapor deposition (PVD) or low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) processes.
