Micro Profiles (Contact Tapes)
Our micro profiles enable the miniaturization of relays and switches at a low cost.
We employ our unique precision bonding techniques to offer multilayer contacts available with a wide range of electric loads, from minute electric current to several amperes.
What’s Micro Profile?
Micro profiles are ultra-small contacts used in relays and switches, which are the signal control components in electronic devices. Relays are components that take in external electrical signals and carry out the opening and closing or switching of electric circuits. They are widely used in a variety of devices, such as those for communications and facilities and consumer electronics.
TANAKA’s Micro Profiles
■Features
- Allows multilayer bonding of different types of metals.
- Contact tape with excellent bonding strength across its entire length.
- Allows reduced sizes of relays and switches.
- Various contact materials, shapes and thickness are available to suit a variety of applications.
- Method for forming the gold (Au) layer on the surface can be selected depending on the desired properties (cladding or sputtering).
- Multilayer tapes with cadmium-free silver oxides are available
(for contact materials, see Electrical Contact Materials
).
Sputtering method
- Au-layer has high hardness, improving adhesion resistance
- Au-layer is formed on outer periphery, improving environmental resistance (oxidation, sulfurization)
Cladding method
- Au-layer hardness is low, making contact resistance stable.
Top-lay Contact using Micro profiles
Micro profiles are continuously welded to spring or terminal materials
Provision form (standard reel)
Bonding example
Various contact materials and shapes are available to suit a variety of applications.
For materials, shapes, and dimensions, please contact us for further details.
■Applications
Relays and switches for automotive use, home electronics, and industrial use, magnet switches, breakers, etc.
Miniaturized Micro Profiles (Contact Tapes)
Next-Generation Contact for Fifth-Generation Signal Relays
Minimum width of 0.2 mm, making it the smallest-sized contact tape for signal relays. Using miniaturized micro profiles can make contacts lighter in weight and suppress bounce and chatterin during the opening and closing of contacts.
■Features
- Au layer clad or sputtering can be selected according to requirements
- Bounce can be minimized by using smaller and lighter contacts
- Electrical signals can be controlled more accurately, which helps to prevent malfunctions in devices
- Miniaturization of contact material contributes to lower power consumption and material savings, leading to cost reduction
- Can contribute to relay downsizing and reduction of mounting area
■History of signal relay contact miniaturization ※Based on research by TANAKA
Since entering practical use in the 1830s, relays have been embedded in various electronic devices. Research and development of signal relays and contacts have progressed together with the development of electronic devices, with relays and the contacts inside them becoming smaller.
TANAKA has been developing contacts for signal relays since the 1970s, succeeding in developing contacts (0.3 mm tape width) for fourth-generation signal relays in 1998 and contacts (0.25 mm tape width) for fifth-generation signal relays in 2023. Fifth-generation signal relays are used in various fields requiring a high level of reliability, such as communication devices, semiconductor inspection equipment, medical devices, network cameras, smart consumer electronics, and automobiles.