Burlington Industries, Inc.

John A Lichtenberger

Rodger L Gamblin

Nancy E Myers

Smooth, specular, ductile alloys of a transition metal and phosphorus (particularly nickel phosphorus) are produced. The ductility is such that when the alloy is in the form of a foil having a thickness up to or greater than 1 mil (i.e. greater than can be obtained by splat cooling) it can be formed into a complex geometric shape, such as a helix, without cracking, and has a ductility comparable to at least about 5 percent (possibly even over 10 percent) for a 25 micron foil subjected to the ASTM Micrometer Bend Test for Ductility of Electrodeposits. The alloy is deposited on a substrate by electroplating in a bath comprising about 0.5-1.0 molar nickel, about 1.5-3.0 molar phosphorous acid, about 0.1-0.6 molar phosphoric acid, and about 0.0-0.6 molar hydrochloric acid, with chloride ion in the amount of at least 1.25M, and greater than twice as much chloride as nickel. While the bath contains significant amounts of hydrochloric acid, in order to maintain nitric acid or warm ferric chloride corrosion resistance of the alloy, the chloride ion is limited to about 2.0 molar.

Electrodeposited amorphous ductile alloys of nickel and phosphorus

Process and apparatus for electrodepositing a metallic layer (such as, an amorphous nickel-phosphorus alloy) onto a surface of a substrate includes forming the substrate into a cylindrical configuration and immersing it in a liquid electrodeposition bath containing the metallic substance to be deposited onto the substrate surface. During the electrodeposition of the metallic substance onto the substrate surface, the substrate is rotated within the bath so as to expose the substrate surface uniformly to the bath liquid and to the electric field which, on average, is substantially constant. The process finds particular utility in the production of orifice plates for use in fluid jet printing devices.

Electrodeposition-produced orifice plate of amorphous metal

An anode configuration is provided particularly for a bath that is used for electrolytically plating a substrate with a nickel and/or cobalt phosphorus alloy. The anode comprises a plurality of widely spaced portions of material, preferably of platinum or rhodium. The anode configuration is such that the anode has a very high current density in use--at least 200 amperes per square foot and preferably 500 amperes per square foot. The wide spacing of the anode portions may be provided in a number of different ways. A platinum wire may extend between titanium screws attached to a pair of parallel spaced titanium buses, in a zig-zag manner. A platinum wire may be welded at its opposite ends to a titanium bus, and helically wrapped around the bus, with the welding junctions covered by an insulating material (e.g. vinyl). A platinum tube may be shrink fit onto a titanium bus.

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Beavercreek, OH, United States of America

John A Lichtenberger