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Pure silver (also called fine silver) exhibits the highest electrical and thermal conductivity of all metals. It is also resistant against oxidation. Major disadvantages are its low mechanical wear resistance, the low softening temperature, and especially its strong affinity to sulfur and sulfur compounds. In the presence of sulfur and sulfur containing compounds brownish to black silver sulfide layer are formed on its surface. These can cause increased contact resistance or even total failure of a switching device if they are not mechanically, electrically, or thermally destroyed. Other weaknesses of silver contacts are the tendency to weld under the influence of over-currents and the low resistance against material transfer when switching DC loads. In humid environments and under the influence of an electrical field silver can creep (silver migration) and cause electrical shorting between adjacent current paths.
<xr id="tab:Overview_of_the_Most_Widely_Used_Silver_Grades"/><!--(Table 2.11)--> shows the typically available quality grades of silver. In certain economic areas, i.e. China, there are additional grades with varying amounts of impurities available on the market. In powder form silver is used for a wide variety of silver based composite contact materials. Different manufacturing processes result in different grades of Ag powder as shown in <xr id="tab:Quality_Criteria_of_Differently_Manufactured_Silver_Powders"/><!--Table 2.12-->. additional properties of silver powders and their usage are described in [[ Precious Metal Powders and Preparations#Precious_Metal_Powders|Precious Metal Powders ]] und [[Precious_Metal_Powders_and_Preparations|TabTable Different Types of Silver Powders. 8.1]]<!--(Tab. 8.1.)-->
Semi-finished silver materials can easily be warm or cold formed and can be clad to the usual base materials. For attachment of silver to contact carrier materials welding of wire or profile cut-offs and brazing are most widely applied. Besides these mechanical processes such as wire insertion (wire staking) and the riveting (staking) of solid or composite contact rivets are used in the manufacture of contact components.
The most important applications for Ag/Ni contact materials are typically in relays, wiring devices, appliance switches, thermostatic controls, auxiliary switches, and small contactors with nominal currents > 20A <xr id="tab:Application Examples and Forms of Supply for Silver-Nickel (SINIDUR) Materials"/><!--(Table 2.24)-->.
<figtable id="tab:Physical Properties of Silver-Nickel (SINIDUR) Materials">
==== Silver-Metal Oxide Materials Ag/CdO, Ag/SnO<sub>2</sub>, Ag/ZnO====
The family of silver-metal oxide contact materials includes the material groups: silver-cadmium oxide (DODURIT CdO), silver-tin oxide (SISTADOX), and silverzinc oxide (DODURIT ZnO). Because of their very good contact and switching properties like high resistance against welding, low contact resistance, and high arc erosion resistance, silver-metal oxides have gained an outstanding position in a broad field of applications. They mainly are used in low voltage electrical switching devices like relays, installation and distribution switches, appliances, industrial controls, motor controls, and protective devices <xr id="tab:tab2.31Application Examples of Silver–Metal Oxide Materials"/><!--(Table 2.31)-->.
*'''Silver-cadmium oxide (DODURIT CdO) materials'''
*'''Silver–tin oxide (SISTADOX) materials'''
Over the past years, many Ag/CdO contact materials have been replaced by Ag/SnO<sub>2</sub> based materials with 2-14 wt% SnO<sub>2</sub> because of the toxicity of Cadmium. This changeover was further favored by the fact that Ag/SnO<sub>2</sub> contacts quite often show improved contact and switching properties such as lower arc erosion, higher weld resistance, and a significant lower tendency towards material transfer in DC switching circuits <xr id="tab:tab2.30Contact and Switching Properties of Silver–Metal Oxide Materials"/><!--(Table 2.30)-->. Ag/SnO<sub>2</sub> materials have been optimized for a broad range of applications by other metal oxide additives and modification in the manufacturing processes that result in different metallurgical, physical and electrical properties<xr id="tab:tab2.28"/><!--(Tab. 2.28)--> und <xr id="tab:tab2.29"/><!--(Table 2.29)-->.
Manufacturing of Ag/SnO<sub>2</sub> by ''internal oxidation'' is possible in principle, but during heat treatment of alloys containing > 5 wt% of tin in oxygen, dense oxide layers formed on the surface of the material prohibit the further diffusion of oxygen into the bulk of the material. By adding Indium or Bismuth to the alloy the internal oxidation is possible and results in materials that typically are rather hard and brittle and may show somewhat elevated contact resistance and is limited to applications in relays. To make a ductile material with fine oxide dispersion (SISTADOX TOS F) <xr id="fig:Micro structure of Ag SnO2 88 12 TOS F"/><!--(Fig. 2.114)--> it is necessary to use special process variations in oxidation and extrusion which lead to materials with improved properties in relays. Adding a brazable fine silver layer to such materials results in a semifinished material suitable for the manufacture as smaller weld profiles (SISTADOX WTOS F) <xr id="fig:Micro structure of Ag SnO2 92 8 WTOS F"/><!--(Fig. 2.116)-->. Because of their resistance to material transfer and low arc erosion these materials find for example a broader application in automotive relays <xr id="tab:tab2.31Application Examples of Silver–Metal Oxide Materials"/><!--(Table 2.31)-->.
==References==
[[Contact Materials for Electrical Engineering#References|References]]
[[de:Werkstoffe_auf_Silber-Basis]]
