Elastomer Bonding

CTE

CTE is, in a nutshell, the amount of expansion or contraction a material will undergo during a temperature change. Most metals (like Aluminum or Copper) will have a high CTE. Other materials (such as ceramics) will have a low one. The solution pioneered, developed and implemented at STS was to replace higher modulus bonding (like the indium process) with a low-modulus bond material using specifically developed elastomers. This allowed customers with various CTE mismatched components to create functional assemblies. Depending on the materials, assemblies can often be reconditioned through a debond and rebond process we have developed.

Elastomer

An Elastomer is a polymer with elastic properties.

XCELOMER

In 2009 the complete library of STS elastomers and their continued technical developments were spun-off into a company dedicated to expanding into markets outside of the Semiconductor Manufacturing environment. This company is named Xcelomer and is focused on Aerospace, Medical and Renewable Energy applications of elastomeric materials as well as continued development of elastomeric materials for Semiconductor manufacturing. By a reciprocal licensing agreement, STS and Xcelomer share development resources and research results.

STS has dedicated itself to developing cutting edge elastomeric materials to be used in bonding high technology manufacturing components. We have successfully developed materials that show a wide range of electrical and thermal conductivity; all with a low enough modulus to ensure that any CTE mismatch between the two surface materials will not threaten the integrity of the bonded components or the bond itself.

Elastomer Bonding 101
For years the task of joining two disparate materials into a single unit was done through different methods, one of which was indium bonding. The main drawback of this (and related methods) was when materials with varying coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) were bonded together for an application - such as a ceramic plate with a metallic base. When these components were put into a high operating temperature the CTE mismatch would stress the bond layer, cracking or severing it.

Bonding Materials Stock and Custom
STS has worked with our materials division Xcelomer to produce a series of highly specialized materials that are designed to provide the proper balance of thermal, electrical, and shear modulus in a bonding application. This has resulted in a large library of off-the-shelf materials for many applications, as well as affording the company the opportunity to provide custom-designed elastomers for unique requirments. STS can provide a bond solution for many situations by using fill materials to achieve the desired tensile, electrical and chemical properties.

For more information on elastomer bonding, please Contact Us.