Glass-to-metal seals protect electronics by sealing them in glass and metal. There are two types of gaskets: matched, which use similar materials, and compression, which use materials that respond differently to heat. Matched seals use kovar and borosilicate glass, while compression seals use steel, iron, or alloy number 42. The purpose is to create an airtight seal, and sintering is used to create a pure and uniform final product. These seals are used in harsh environments in the aerospace and military industries.
A glass-to-metal seal is a way to protect electrical components by sealing them inside glass and metal. There are two types of glass-metal gaskets. Matched gaskets use glass and metal varieties that have similar thermal expansion properties, while compression gaskets use materials that respond to heat differently. The glass-to-metal sealing technique is often used in the aerospace and military industries where electronics must operate in harsh environmental conditions.
The purpose of a glass-to-metal seal is to create an airtight, or airtight, seal around electronic components. This is accomplished by placing the electronics inside a glass component surrounded by a metal part. The glass is formed by sintering. Sintering is a process of creating a solid mass from powdered or crushed elements by heating the material to just below its melting point and then applying pressure to shape the material. This results in a pure and uniform final product.
A matched glass-to-metal gasket is made from materials chosen for their similar coefficients of thermal expansion. A material’s coefficient of thermal expansion is a value that can be plugged into a formula to find out how much a material will expand for each degree of increase in temperature. The use of matched materials means that both glass and metal will expand and contract at the same rate in heat and cold. This ensures that the glass-to-metal seal will not break when used in the most extreme conditions.
Matching seals are often made using kovar (KV) housings and pins. Kovar is an alloy composed of iron, nickel and cobalt. It is ideal because it has a glass-like coefficient of thermal expansion over a wide range of temperatures. The glass portion of the glass-to-metal laminated gasket is made from borosilicate glass, a glass composed of silica and boron oxide. Matching seals can be created in almost any shape.
Compression seals use a housing material that has a higher coefficient of thermal expansion than glass. The housing contracts around the glass as it solidifies. There are three types of compression seals: steel and stainless steel compression seals, iron compression seals, and alloy number 42 compression seals. Alloy number 42 is an alloy composed of nickel and small amounts of other materials. The glass in a compression seal is usually a barium alkali and the pins are made of nickel or iron.
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