Silver-Aluminum Silicone Offers Cost and Performance Advantages

Most silver-aluminum silicones are designed to meet U.S. military specifications. Consequently, they sacrifice higher electrical conductivity for greater elongation, tear strength, and other physical properties. But what if you don’t need to meet a spec like the MIL-DTL-83528 Type B callout? What choices do you have, and are they better than what you can expect from a MIL-SPEC gasket?

SSP2476-65 is a silver-aluminum silicone for non-MIL-SPEC applications that contains more electrically conductive particles for maximum surface conductivity. It’s also more cost-effective than silver-aluminum silicones that are associated with specs like MIL-DTL-83528. SSP2476-65 comes in continuous rolls for high-volume production, but it’s available in other form factors as well.

Maximum Surface Conductivity

Surface conductivity is the ability of an EMI gasket’s outermost layer and interface boundary to pass electrical current freely while maintaining a low-resistance electrical bond with an enclosure’s mating flange. It’s an important specification because an EMI gasket needs to fill gaps in seams, doors, and access panels so that the entire enclosure acts as a single, uninterrupted Faraday cage.

SSP2476-65’s high surface conductivity also minimizes contact resistance between an enclosure’s metal flange and an EMI gasket’s surface. That prevents high-frequency electromagnetic energy from leaking in or leaking out. In addition, high surface conductivity provides a low-impedance path for high-frequency induced currents to cross the joint instead of reflecting or radiating away.   

Cost-Effective Continuous Rolls

SSP2476-65’s high surface conductivity isn’t its only advantage over other silver-aluminum silicones. This electrically conductive elastomer comes in continuous rolls for high-yield processing. SSP can even supply continuous rolls of this material with a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) backed by a release liner. Die cut EMI gaskets that support peel-and-stick installation save time and money.   

If you don’t need continuous rolls, you’ll still find that SSP2476-65 is more cost-effective than materials associated with U.S. military specifications. This product is also available as fully-cured sheet stock, continuous extrusion profiles, and ready-to-mold compound. SSP can make and ship SSP2476-65 that’s ready to fabricate, or we can fabricate your EMI gaskets in low or high volumes.

Silver-Aluminum Silicone Specifications

SSP2476-65 is a 65-durometer (Shore A) EMI silicone that does not require the higher enclosure force of harder 75 to 80 durometer materials. Its thermal stability ranges from -60°C (-76°F) to 220°C (428°F), and it has a volume resistivity of .0009 ohm/cm. In addition to withstanding a wide range of temperatures then, this EMI silicone provides exceptional attenuation.

Physical properties include tensile strength (150 psi) and elongation percentage (350%). SSP2476-65 is available in tan or dark blue and has applications that include the push button switches used on keypads. Its thermal conductivity of 1.9 W/m·K will transfer enough heat for applications with low thermal design power (TDP) that operate at slightly higher junction temperatures.

Learn More and Request a Quote

Do you need a silver-aluminum silicone for EMI gaskets that don’t require a MIL-SPEC material? Then learn more about SSP2476-65 and the advantages of choosing an EMI elastomer with lower costs and higher surface conductivity. Continuous rolls of SSP2476-65 are ideal for high-volume production, and SSP offers faster lead times than the competition. Plus, you can buy from us directly.