NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Background (cont’)

Why are Thin Whiskers a Problem?

In ground environment, whiskers are mostly harmless, therefore rarely noticed
In vacuum environment, when sufficient current is available, the vaporization of the whisker creates a plasma arc that sustains hundreds of Amperes.

1 mA

10 mA

Size (diameter)

Vacuum

Air

Melting Current

Melting Current

Probability

Cumulative

Current

1 %

100 %

Power Circuit

Signal Circuit

1 mA

10 mA

Air

Air

Vac

Vac

Previous slide Next slide Back to first slide View graphic version

Responsible NASA Officials:

   Michael Sampson/NASA GSFC Code 306
   Dr. Henning Leidecker/NASA GSFC Code 562
Additional Researchers: 

   Jong Kadesch/Orbital Sciences Corp.
   Jay Brusse/QSS Group, Inc.

Last Updated:

April 20, 2005

DISCLAIMER:
This website provides information about tin whiskers and related research. The independent research performed during the past 50+ years is so vast that it is impractical to cover all aspects of tin whiskers in this one resource. Therefore, the absence of information in this website about a particular aspect of tin whiskers should NOT be construed as evidence of absence.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE:
This material is presented to ensure timely dissemination of scholarly and technical work. For technical references posted herein, copyright and all rights therein are retained by authors or by other copyright holders. All persons copying this information are expected to adhere to the terms and constraints invoked by each author's copyright. In most cases, these works may not be reposted without the explicit permission of the copyright holder.

SECURITY BANNER