Depending on the requirements of the assembly technology for the final product, i.e. using connectors or soldering attachment, the clad strips are coated in the terminal area with a suitable surface layer with either an electroplated hard gold (AuCo0.3) layer or selectively by electroplating or hot dip tinning with pure tin or a tin alloy. To ensure the best bond properties during the coating process , the AlSi surface is protected against corrosion by masking during this processing step.