Silver rich materials for low current contacts

Abstract From the Canadian patent

Silver rich materials for low-current contacts which consist of 45 to 72 atomic % of silver 9 to 32 atomic % of gold, 9 to 32 atomic % of palladium and 0.01 to 1 atomic % of iridium and/or osmium, 0 to 10 atomic % of copper and 0 to 5 atomic % of lead and/or 0 to 5 atomic % of tin are described. On selecting the contents of silver and gold and/or gold and palladium and/or silver and palladium such that the atomic ratios are like 2:1 3:1, 4:1, 5:1, 6:1 and/or 1:3, 1:2, 2:3 1:1, 3:2, 2:1, 3:1, and/or 2:1, 3:1, 4:1 5:1, 6:1, relative to each other, then materials which are very resistant to forming films of foreign material and have a high resistance to wear are obtained.