An Article to Take You to Understand the PCB Gold Finger

What is Gold Finger:

It is commonly found in computer hardware, such as between memory modules and memory slots, graphics cards and graphics card slots, etc. Because it is composed of multiple golden conductive contact pieces with gold-plated surfaces, and the conductive contact pieces are arranged in a finger shape, so it's called "Gold finger".

The Role of PCB Gold Fingers:

Let's take the memory module as an example. When the gold finger is inserted into the card slot, the memory module and the motherboard can be interconnected and transmit signals, and it is also easy to disassemble and replace. For this kind of gold finger board that is often plugged and unplugged, the electroplating nickel gold technology is usually used. It not only has good wear resistance, but also has excellent electrical conductivity and oxidation resistance. For gold finger boards that do not require high wear resistance, you can choose the entire board immersion gold technology, and its cost will be much lower than electroplating nickel gold.

Categories of gold fingers:

1. Regular Gold Finger: It is arranged in a neat manner on the edge of the board, and its length and width are the same as the rectangular pad;

2. Segmented Gold Finger: It is located on the rectangular pads of different lengths on the edge of the board, and the gold fingers are also segmented into different lengths.

3. Long and Short Gold Fingers: It is a rectangular pad of varying lengths located on the edge of the board.

How to Prevent Gold Finger PCB From Being Oxidized:

Memory is an important part of the computer. Once there is any problem, it will cause the computer to malfunction or even fail to function normally. The most common memory failure is that the gold finger of the memory is oxidized. So how to prevent gold fingers from being oxidized?

1. Use fastening methods to solve the problem.

2. When we install and repair memory, we must be careful not to directly touch the gold finger of the memory slot with our hands. Because the sweat on our hands will adhere to the gold fingers of the memory module, it is easy for the gold fingers to oxidize, which will lead to poor contact between the memory module and the memory slot over time.

3. If the computer is not used frequently, it is recommended to turn it on at least once every certain period and let the machine run for an hour or two. This uses the heat generated by the machine itself to drive away moisture inside the machine and keep the machine in good operating condition.

Several Methods for Erasing Oxide Layer of Gold Finger:

If the memory or graphics card is used for a long time, an oxide layer will form on the surface of the gold finger that is in contact with the air for a long time, and dust will also adhere to it. This will cause the resistivity of contact surface to increase, leading to poor contact.

There are several commonly used tools for removing oxide layers:

1. Rubber

Ordinary erasers on the market can remove the oxide layer and dust.

2. Pencil

The ingredients inside pencil lead are graphite and clay. Clay has a certain hardness that removes the oxide layer, while graphite is an electric conductor. If there is graphite residue after wiping the gold finger, it may cause adjacent contacts to short-circuit. Therefore, you should check whether there is graphite in the gaps after use, and if so, be sure to clean it up.

3. Washing water

Use a cotton swab ball or lint-free cloth dipped in washing water to wipe the gold finger, and it can be used after it is completely dry. If washing water is unavailable, common organic solvents such as anhydrous ethanol and anhydrous isopropyl alcohol can be used instead. And we should be careful to avoid inhaling too much steam when operating to prevent harm to health.

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