Preparation for Kovar alloy sealing

All degreased, fabricated Kovar alloy parts should be degassed and annealed in a wet hydrogen atmosphere. Atmosphere is to be made moist by bubbling the hydrogen through water at room temperature. Care must be taken to prevent surface carbon pickup. Furnace should have a cooling chamber provided with the same atmosphere.

Heating should be conducted within the 1540/2010°F temperature range. Time at temperature should be approximately two hours for lowest temperature to 20 minutes for the highest temperature. Parts should then be transferred to the cooling zone and held until below 570°F, then removed.

An oxide film on the metallic part is preferred for metal-to-hard glass sealing. The best oxide film is thin and tightly adhering. The film can be produced by heating the parts to 1200/1290°F in regular ambient atmosphere for a time sufficient to form a dark gray to slight brown oxide.