The application and mechanism of lubricants on electrical contacts

Lubricants are widely used in electronic connector applications. Mainly it is for increasing reliability and reducing the cost of electric contacts. However, from the user´s point of view, proper application and the mechanism of the lubrication effect of the lubricants are still not fully understood. By means of micro-observation techniques, the effect of corrosion inhibition, wear resistance and reducing the failure caused by insulated particulates are studied and described in this paper. The mechanism of static coverage, dynamic coverage as well as floating and moving ability of the particles are discussed. The effect of important parameters such as contact angle, surface tension, contact angle ratio and adhesion are also introduced. This paper is expected to be helpful to both lubricant users and manufacturers.