Edge-Connector Failure Mechanisms

This paper presents the results of an environmental and contact physics study evaluating edgecard connectors from nine manufacturers. Interfacial contact resistance (constriction resistance) was used to monitor contact degradation and can reproducibly provide distributions in resistance characteristic of manufacturer. These techniques have shown that for connectors used in commercial applications, ingress of corrosive reactants through porous gold plate dominates normal force fluctuations in causing contact failure. This is due principally to variations in plating thickness and is a result of poor quality control.