Two become one - with reactive heat

Reactive nano-multilayers are considered to be a revolution in joining technology. They are envisaged for joining heat-sensitive materials that would otherwise be damaged or even destroyed upon conventional soldering. But soldering with reactive films proves to be tricky due to the volatile nature of the reactive foils. Empa researchers have now succeeded in refining the joining process with reactive nano-multilayers, making it available also for sensitive components without any loss in quality. To put it simply: joining means to connect things in a permanent way, e.g. different materials or components which then form a new product. A well-known joining process is soldering, which is usually performed in a furnace. There, the components are heated together with the solder alloy, the solder melts, and creates a permanent bond between the components.