Housings, Windows & Feedthroughs

S-Bond active solders are hermetic and can effectively join dissimilar metals, ceramics, and glass that are used on enclosures, housings and feedthroughs used to contain and protect sensors. They permit signal, power or optical signals to pass into a vessel. Examples of components that S-Bond Technology produces are shown above.

The figures above illustrate several types of housings. The figure to the far left shows solder joined stainless steel housings that protect ultrasonic, piezo-electric elements. The middle figure shows optical Titaium – sapphire window sensor housings that contain and protect detector crystals. The housing consists of sapphire windows and thin-walled titanium tubes that are S-Bond joined at 250ºC, which lowers distortion and produces a more robust seal than conventional metallization based or active brazed seals. S-Bond’s lower joining temperatures and more compliant solder interface makes the joint more stable. The figure to the above right, shows several flanges that have optical windows that have been hermtically sealed using S-Bond solder alloys and processing.

S-Bond can also join a wide range of UV and IR inorganic crystal windows, such as ZnSe, BaF2 and LiF. Such window assemblies are normally brazed or conventionally soldered after a metallization is first placed on the edge of the window and the metallic housing. These metallization processes are either vacuum vapor deposited or are sintered, using a Mo-Mn deposition followed by a Ni-plating to produce an adherent metallic layer that solders or braze filler metals can adhere to. S-Bond, in one step, can metallize and later join the ceramic lenses to the metallic frames or enclosures at temperatures lower than brazing, thus minimizing distortion. This is especially useful when making larger sensor housings and windows.