Solder Types

Solder Types

Many metals and their alloys can be used as solders. The following table gives a quick overview of various solder materials and their applications:

Solder	Applications	Characteristics
Bismuth	Low temperature soldering	Deforms easily. Needs Aggressive fluxes.
Cadmium-Silver	High temperature applications	Toxic. Good tensile strength
Cadmium-Zinc	Soldering aluminum	Toxic
Indium	Low temperature soldering, wets glass	Deforms easily
Lead-Silver	High temperature applications	Good high temperature properties, good fatigue strength. Medium or low flow properties
Tin-Antimony	High temperature and food industry applications	Non-toxic. Good high temperature properties. Better electrical conductivity and strength than tin-lead solders. Good wetting.
Tin-Antimony-Lead	General purpose.	Improved mechanical properties over Tin-Lead solders. Can not be used with zinc due to brittle zinc-antimony inter-metallic compounds
Tin-Lead	General purpose, and the most widely used solders.	Good process characteristics and the best understood solders.
Tin-Silver	Used for soldering medical or high precision instruments. High temperature applications	Non-toxic but expensive. Good high temperature properties.
Tin-Zinc	Soldering aluminum
Zinc-Aluminum	Soldering aluminum

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