Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd. Has Launched a High-Purity Oxygen-Free Copper Wire, “PCUHD”
~ High Quality Oxygen-Free Copper Wire Made Using Unique Manufacturing Methods ~

June 17, 2014

Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd. has succeeded in developing PCUHD and launched full-scale sales of the product from this fiscal year. PCUHD stands for Pure Copper Ultra High Drawability. It is an oxygen-free copper wire product into which carefully-selected raw materials are cast in the process where contamination due to inclusions and impurities is strictly controlled.

Characteristics

By combining a molding process that uses no heat resistant materials with post-processing free from hot extrusion or rolling processes, the product can be mass-produced in a way that excludes inclusions and impurities. While the product is a 4N grade material (copper purity 99.99%), it possesses high malleability and drawability that allows processing up to superfine wires.
Oxygen is one of the most common impurities in copper products. For this reason, no gas burners are used during the manufacturing processes and the insides of the equipment are filled with noble gases. Through these methods we have succeeded in controlling oxygen to 5ppm, which is below the standard required for oxygen-free copper.

Fields of Application

  • Acoustic cables; internal wiring material for acoustic equipment
    By controlling the amount of oxygen contained in the product, it is possible to reduce the amount of “voids (bubbles) within the material that hinder the transmission of electric signals/ oxides.”
  • Material for connection conductors used in semi-conductors
    The product’s low level of inclusions means it has excellent processability into the superfine wires required for making narrow pitch connections.

Characteristics Comparison Table for Copper Materials

  PCUHD Oxygen-free copper(note) Phosphorous-deoxidized copper(note) Tough pitch copper(note)
JIS Alloy Number - C1020 C1220 C1100
Copper purity 99.99% or higher 99.96% or higher 99.90% or higher 99.90% or higher
Phosphorous content - - 150-400 ppm -
Oxygen copper 5 ppm or less 10 ppm or less    

(note)Source: JIS H 3260

Inquiries

Electric Conductor Division
e-mail fec.doudenzai@furukawaelectric.com

About Furukawa Electric Group

Furukawa Electric (TSE; 5801, ISIN; JP3827200001) Group started business in 1884, when its copper-smelting facility and wire manufacturing factory was established. Since then Furukawa Electric has become pioneers in the latest technologies by addressing diverse technological issues. Furukawa Electric has released products in a number of areas, including telecommunications, electronics, automobiles, and construction, with the three types of materials it works with at their core, namely, optics, plastics, and metals. Many of these products have attained the top global market share, and all of its products have contributed to society in numerous business areas. Furukawa Electric reported consolidated revenues of JPY 931.8 billion (approximately USD 9.3B) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2014.