Antimicrobial copper-alloy touch surfaces Antimicrobial copper-alloy touch surfaces Antimicrobial copper-alloy touch surfaces can prevent frequently touched surfaces from serving as reservoirs for the spread of pathogenic microbes. This is especially true in healthcare facilities, where harmful viruses, bacteria, and fungi colonize and persist on doorknobs, push plates, railings, tray tables, tap (faucet) handles, IV poles, HVAC systems, and other equipment. These microbes can often survive on surfaces for surprisingly long periods of time (sometimes more than 30 days). The surfaces of copper and its alloys, such as brass and bronze, are antimicrobial. They have an inherent ability to kill a wide range of harmful
Tin-silver-copper been increasing. Large companies such as Sony and Intel switched from using lead-containing solder to a tin-silver-copper alloy. The process requirements for SAC solders (Pb-free) and Sn-Pb solders are different both materially and logistically for electronic assembly. In addition, the reliability of Sn-Pb solders is well established, while SAC solders are still undergoing study, (though much work has been done to justify the use of SAC solders, such as the iNEMI Lead Free Solder Project). One important difference is that Pb-free soldering requires higher temperatures and increased process control to achieve the same results as that of the tin-lead method.