What Happens to Capacitors During Soldering?

What Happens to Capacitors During Soldering?

The plating structure of chip capacitors consists of three layers: the first layer is copper, followed by nickel, and the outermost layer is tin.

Copper, with its excellent electrical conductivity, serves as the innermost layer. It is used to connect the internal electrodes of the capacitor, ensuring efficient current conduction.

The nickel layer acts as a protective layer. It has anti-oxidation properties, which protect the underlying copper from oxidation. Additionally, it prevents excessive heat from conducting to the ceramic dielectric inside the capacitor, safeguarding the internal structure from high-temperature damage.

Tin exhibits good solderability. It enhances the wetting performance of the component during the soldering process, ensuring the reliability of solder joints and the stability of electrical connections.

During soldering, the tin on the outermost layer of the capacitor's terminals melts at the soldering temperature and fuses with the tin in the solder paste, forming a strong solder joint. This ensures both electrical connection and mechanical fixation between the capacitor and the circuit board. During the heating process, the various layer materials of the capacitor generate slight stress due to differences in their coefficients of thermal expansion. The presence of the nickel layer helps relieve this stress, preventing ceramic cracking or delamination caused by thermal stress.

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