Technical Ceramics
Hermetic Ceramic-to-Metal Assemblies for Demanding Applications
What are ceramic-to-metal assemblies?
Ceramic-to-metal assemblies are engineered components that combine ceramic materials and metals to deliver high-performance parts for extreme environments. They provide electrical insulation, mechanical strength, and hermetic sealing, making them ideal for applications such as aerospace, medical devices, and semiconductor manufacturing.
Key benefits of ceramic-to-metal assemblies
- High joint strength – hermeticity able to maintain ultra-high levels of vacuum
- Thermal resistance - performs reliably in harsh environments and elevated temperatures
- Electrical insulation – ideal for high-voltage and sensitive electronic applications
- Joint integrity - able to withstand high stresses
- Mechanical strength – withstands high pressure in demanding conditions
Range of ceramic-to-metal assemblies
Materials used in ceramic-to-metal assemblies
Ceramics
- Alumina materials – AL-300®, Sintox™ FF, Deranox™ 995, A950, AL-998®, AL-500®
- Higher performance ceramics – Yittria stabilised zirconia, ZTA, Si3N4, sapphire, CVD SiC, and composite materials such as ox-ox
- Glazes - for contamination protection or to facilitate cleaning
Joining materials
- Conventional brazing materials - copper, gold, silver, precious metal eutectics, for joining metallised alumina to metals
- Active brazing alloys (ABA®) - for joining bare alumina to metals that satisfy biocompatibility requirements
Metals
- Metals - OFHC copper, stainless steels, mild steels, monel, kovar, nickel, titanium, super alloys, platinum, platinum iridium, niobium, tungsten
Ceramic-to-metal assembly applications
Aerospace
Ceramic components and brazed assemblies are increasingly used in aero engines operating at higher temperatures, where conventional materials are not suitable. They can be used to help improve engine efficiency and reduce gas emissions.
Medical devices
We have been designing and manufacturing high voltage feedthroughs for diagnostic equipment for over 60 years. These brazed assemblies are manufactured using high purity alumina and feature a high level of cleanliness. For our medical division and metallising areas this is achieved via dedicated clean-rooms.
Semiconductor and electronics applications
Energy and industrial applications
Why work with Morgan?
- We have a long history in joining ceramic and metal to create high-performance engineered components
- Our materials experts have extensive experience in working with customers across multiple industries to help design brazed assemblies
- Clean-room manufacturing for medical and high-spec applications
Ceramic-to-metal assemblies questions
What are ceramic-to-metal assemblies used for?
They are used in high-performance industries such as aerospace, medical, and electronics where components must withstand heat, pressure, or electrical stress. Many such assemblies are used as feedthroughs to transmit high-voltage electrical power, or as feedthroughs to transmit lower power electrical input/output (I/O) signals to connected devices.
Why combine ceramic and metal?
Combining the two materials allows engineers to leverage beneficial attributes of ceramics (electrical or thermal insulation, heat and chemical resistance, hardness) alongside metal's strength and conductivity, providing an assembly that completely satisfies the needs of the application. For example, brazing a titanium flange to an alumina insulator enables manufacturers of medical implants (such as neurostimulators) to e-beam weld the titanium flange to the titanium enclosure containing the battery and the electronics of the medical implant. Without such a flange, the manufacturer would need to develop an alternate means of connecting the alumina insulator to the titanium enclosure which may be more costly or may risk compromising the device's internal battery or electronics.
What is hermetic sealing?
Hermetic sealing ensures that components are airtight, preventing gas or moisture from entering sensitive systems. Hermeticity is an important attribute of ceramic-to-metal feedthroughs used for X-ray tubes to maintain the vacuum within the tube, as well as for feedthroughs used in active implants to protect the microelectronics within the implant.