Gold bonding wires trapped inside of electric hot plate burner

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Tzoax

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 10, 2014
Messages
423
Location
Serbia, Belgrade
After several years of incinerating IC chips and BGA chips on my electric hot plate burner, i noticed that it is more and more getting this kind of yellow color. I suspected that some/many of gold bonding wires could be trapped there. I know that there was not enough temperature there to melt the gold, but perhaps there are some other ways for gold to be "sticking" on burner?

Maybe it is not gold, but i have no idea what else that could be since i was incinerating only IC chips there until they became white and soft (after pyrolyzing them with burner). I was even re-incinerating IC chips concentrate there.

It looks like gold to me. Do anyone had similar situation?
And what would be the best choice to process this in case it is gold?

Alex

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Whenever I come across surfaces that look like your pictures and I am asked is it gold I simply mix up a small (few ml) amount of 3:1 aqua regia and let it sit until it is red in color so it is nice and reactive. Then i put a few drops on the surface in question for a short time, like a minute. Absorb the acid by touching the edge of a dry paper towel and test with stannous chloride. If there is gold there you will know.
 
I processed this material and there is no trace of gold. It seems that gold bonding wires does not have tendency to "stick" on a red hot surface like in this example with my hotplate. I don't know what is this yellow material but it is not gold, which is good, now i know my gold bonding wires are not "escaping". And considering these cracks on a hotplate, i think it's time for me to buy a new one.

Alex
 
Such a color can give, for example, Cadmium oxide CdO.

The Russians have a saying: "Not all gold that what glitters". :)
 
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