Why choose immersion gold board instead of gold-plated board

What is gold plating? What we call whole board gold plating generally refers to “electroplating gold”, “electroplating nickel gold board”, “electrolytic gold”, “electro gold”, and “electro nickel gold board”. There is a distinction between soft gold and hard gold (generally hard gold is used for gold fingers). The principle is to dissolve nickel and gold (commonly known as gold salt) in chemical solution, immerse the circuit board in the electroplating tank and connect the current to generate a nickel gold coating on the copper foil surface of the circuit board. Electroplating nickel gold is widely used in electronic products due to its high hardness, wear resistance, and non-oxidation advantages.

What is immersion gold? Immersion gold is a coating generated by chemical oxidation-reduction reaction. It is generally thicker. It is a method of chemical nickel gold layer deposition, which can achieve a thicker gold layer

The difference between immersion gold board and gold-plated board:

1. Generally, the thickness of immersion gold is much thicker than that of gold plating. Immersion gold will be golden yellow, which is yellower than gold plating. Customers are more satisfied with immersion gold on the surface. The crystal structures formed by the two are different.
2. The immersion gold board only has nickel gold on the pad, and the signal transmission in the skin effect is on the copper layer and will not affect the signal.
3. The immersion gold board only has nickel gold on the pad, so the solder mask on the circuit is more firmly combined with the copper layer. The project will not affect the spacing when making compensation.
4. Because the crystal structure formed by immersion gold and gold plating is different, immersion gold is easier to weld than gold plating, and will not cause poor welding and cause customer complaints. At the same time, because immersion gold is softer than gold plating, gold finger boards are generally selected for gold plating, and hard gold is wear-resistant.
5. The crystal structure of immersion gold is denser than gold plating, and it is not easy to produce oxidation.
6. As the wiring becomes denser, the line width and spacing have reached 3-4MIL. Gold plating is prone to gold wire short circuit. The immersion gold board only has nickel gold on the pad, so it will not produce gold wire short circuit.
7. It is generally used for boards with relatively high requirements. The flatness should be good. Generally, immersion gold is used. Immersion gold generally does not have the phenomenon of black pad after assembly. The flatness and service life of the immersion gold board are as good as those of the gold-plated board.
   The above is the difference between the immersion gold board and the gold-plated board. Now the price of gold is expensive in the market. In order to save costs, many manufacturers are no longer willing to produce gold-plated boards, but only make immersion gold boards with nickel gold on the pads, which are indeed much cheaper in price.
8. The immersion gold board and the chemical gold board are the same process products, and the electroplated gold board and the flash gold board are also the same process products. In fact, they are just different names for different people in the PCB industry. The immersion gold board and the electroplated gold board are more common in mainland peers, while the chemical gold board and the flash gold board are more common in Taiwan peers.
9. The more formal name of the immersion gold board/chemical gold board is chemical nickel gold board or chemical nickel immersion gold board. The growth of the nickel/gold layer is plated by chemical deposition; the more formal name of the gold electroplated gold board/flash gold board is electroplated nickel gold board or flash gold plated board. The growth of the nickel/gold layer is plated by direct current electroplating.

The difference between the characteristics of immersion gold board and gold-plated board

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Why choose immersion gold board instead of gold-plated board?
In order to solve the above problems of gold-plated board, PCB using immersion gold board has the following characteristics:

1. Because the crystal structure formed by immersion gold and gold plating is different, immersion gold will be golden yellow, which is yellower than gold plating, and customers are more satisfied.
2. Because the crystal structure formed by immersion gold and gold plating is different, immersion gold is easier to weld than gold plating, and will not cause poor welding and cause customer complaints.
3. Because there is only nickel gold on the pad of the immersion gold board, the signal transmission in the skin effect is on the copper layer and will not affect the signal.
4. Because the crystal structure of immersion gold is denser than that of gold plating, it is not easy to produce oxidation.
5. Because there is only nickel gold on the pad of the immersion gold board, it will not produce gold wire to cause micro short.
6. Since the immersion gold board only has nickel gold on the pad, the solder mask on the circuit is more firmly bonded to the copper layer.
7. The engineering will not affect the spacing when making compensation.
8. Since the crystal structure formed by immersion gold and gold plating is different, the stress of the immersion gold board is easier to control, which is more conducive to the bonding process for products with bonding. At the same time, because immersion gold is softer than gold plating, the immersion gold board is not wear-resistant for gold fingers.
9. The flatness and standby life of the immersion gold board are as good as those of the gold-plated board.