About Palladium Cobalt
The Solder Shield

Palladium cobalt is a unique alloy that combines the metallurgical traits of a noble metal with an inherent solder repelling mechanism. Solder from IC leads or solder balls tends to adhere to the plungers of test probes plated with standard electrodeposited hard gold. Over time, solder and solder oxides build up and the contact resistance increases, ultimately causing test probe failure.

Compared to gold, palladium cobalt is harder and more ductile. It also has lower porosity, and smaller grain size. As a result, plungers plated with palladium cobalt have a reduced affinity for solder which means longer cycle life and easier cleaning. Palladium cobalt plated test probes also feature a very consistent contact resistance over a large number of cycles.

Palladium Cobalt plating is available on any Rika Denshi probe. The Palladium Cobalt plating option is flexible so that you can choose to have either one or both of the plungers plated, depending on your application.


*United States Patent 6,992,496 B2