Very small plastic film connector ribbons?

[cejohnsonsr]

I've begun to disassemble some old cell phones & I've noticed that several of the connections between chips are made with very thin ribbons that appear to be made of plastic or some other type of film. I can see the gold on the exposed ends of the connectors. My question is what about the wires in the film? I assume that is gold also? If so, will the acid dissolve the film to expose the gold or is there another process to remove it? Thanks for any help or input. I looked, but didn't see this anywhere else, so if it's already been asked & answered I'd be more than satisfied with a pointer to that thread. Also, in case anyone needs or wants to see the ribbon I'm talking about I have a pic, but don't know how to post it here.

Thanks,

Ed

 

[resabed01]

I'm pretty sure they are gold plated only on the exposed end. You can test with the flame from a lighter. It will burn away the orange coating exposing the copper traces that were embedded.
I cut the ends off with a pair of scissors and add them to my batch of fingers.

 

[Geo]

I'm pretty sure they are gold plated only on the exposed end. You can test with the flame from a lighter. It will burn away the orange coating exposing the copper traces that were embedded.
I cut the ends off with a pair of scissors and add them to my batch of fingers.

agreed.

 

[cejohnsonsr]

Thank you very much. I'll try that right now.

Update: I just did it & the wires inside the ribbon are, in fact, copper. Thank you again for the help.

Ed