SolutionsCeramic-to-Metal

Our team of technical experts in the field of ceramic-to-metal seals at our facility in Moissy-Cramayel (only 30 minutes south-east of Paris), formerly known as VERMETAL, has developed a unique expertise in the production of highly engineered brazed assemblies.

These hermetic ceramic-to-metal seals have been designed for the most extreme applications that exceed the limits of conventional materials and solutions: Electrical insulation, high temperature, high pressure, high voltage, high-vacuum HV and ultra-high vacuum UHV reliability, cryogenics or corrosive environments.

The main markets served for hermetic feedthroughs and ceramic-to-metal seals are aircraft, aerospace, defense, nuclear, physical research, electron and vacuum tubes, also known as valves, such as X-ray tubes for medical imaging or materials science.

Solcera offers material combinations including

• Insulators: 96 to 99% alumina, zirconia, sapphire, quartz, CaF₂ , MgF₂ , spinel
• Metals: FeNi, FeNiCo, copper, Inconel, stainless steel, molybdenum, nickel, platinum, titanium
• Brazing materials for low and high temperatures
• Additional treatments as gold plating, glazing
• Welding operations: TIG, electron beam EB or laser

Solcera uses two main processes making an alloying reaction possible

• Ceramic-to-metal assembly with prior moly-manganese MoMn metallization, fired under controlled atmosphere, followed by nickel plating and sinter-firing for conventional brazing processes with alloys such as AgCu.
• Assembly using active metal brazing alloys. These alloys contain an “active” element such as Ti reacting with oxygen. An active Ti-based metallization is deposited either by brush or by PVD sputtering followed by active brazing processes.