A joint unit includes a first metal pipe, a second metal pipe, and a joint portion (a region including a joint interface at which the end faces of the first and second metal pipes are joined to each other. At the joint portion, an outer circumferential bead portion protruding toward the outer circumference side and an inner circumferential bead portion protruding toward the inner circumference side are formed. The difference between the width of the outer circumferential bead portion (the width L1 of a grinding portion and the width L2 of the inner circumferential bead portion in a direction from the first metal pipe toward the second metal pipe is equal to or smaller than 40% with respect to the average value of the width L1 of the outer circumferential bead portion and the width L2 of the inner circumferential bead portion.

A method of preparing aluminum metal pieces for welding, along with welded sheet metal assemblies formed from the prepared aluminum metal pieces. In one embodiment, a scanning beam of a laser is directed at an edge portion of the sheet metal piece such that a portion of the scanning beam is configured to impact an oxide layer at the edge portion. The laser is pulsed in a series of ablating pulses at the edge portion, with the ablating pulses creating an ablation plume that includes ablated material from the oxide layer of the primary surface and the peripheral surface of the edge portion. The ablation plume is analyzed, and ablation and analyzing continues until a threshold of at least one constituent in the ablation plume or the analysis plume is met or exceeded. One or more operating parameters of the laser are adjusted based on the analysis of the ablation plume or analysis plume. In some embodiments, two aluminum metal pieces are simultaneously prepared.

A method of preparing aluminum metal pieces for welding, along with welded sheet metal assemblies formed from the prepared aluminum metal pieces. In one embodiment, a scanning beam of a laser is directed at an edge portion of the sheet metal piece such that a portion of the scanning beam is configured to impact an oxide layer at the edge portion. The laser is pulsed in a series of ablating pulses at the edge portion, with the ablating pulses creating an ablation plume that includes ablated material from the oxide layer of the primary surface and the peripheral surface of the edge portion. The ablation plume is analyzed, and ablation and analyzing continues until a threshold of at least one constituent in the ablation plume or the analysis plume is met or exceeded. One or more operating parameters of the laser are adjusted based on the analysis of the ablation plume or analysis plume. In some embodiments, two aluminum metal pieces are simultaneously prepared.

In described examples, a transient liquid phase (TLP) metal bonding material includes a first substrate and a base metal layer. The base metal layer is disposed over at least a portion of the first substrate. The base metal has a surface roughness (Ra) of between about 0.001 to 500 nm. Also, the TLP metal bonding material includes a first terminal metal layer that forms an external surface of the TLP metal bonding material. A metal fuse layer is positioned between the base metal layer and the first terminal metal layer. The TLP metal bonding material is stable at room temperature for at least a predetermined period of time.

A semiconductor device according to the present invention includes a semiconductor chip, an electrode pad made of a metal material containing aluminum and formed on a top surface of the semiconductor chip, an electrode lead disposed at a periphery of the semiconductor chip, a bonding wire having a linearly-extending main body portion and having a pad bond portion and a lead bond portion formed at respective ends of the main body portion and respectively bonded to the electrode pad and the electrode lead, and a resin package sealing the semiconductor chip, the electrode lead, and the bonding wire, the bonding wire is made of copper, and the entire electrode pad and the entire pad bond portion are integrally covered by a water-impermeable film.

A semiconductor device according to the present invention includes a semiconductor chip, an electrode pad made of a metal material containing aluminum and formed on a top surface of the semiconductor chip, an electrode lead disposed at a periphery of the semiconductor chip, a bonding wire having a linearly-extending main body portion and having a pad bond portion and a lead bond portion formed at respective ends of the main body portion and respectively bonded to the electrode pad and the electrode lead, and a resin package sealing the semiconductor chip, the electrode lead, and the bonding wire, the bonding wire is made of copper, and the entire electrode pad and the entire pad bond portion are integrally covered by a water-impermeable film.

A substrate stacking apparatus that stacks first and second substrates on each other, by forming a contact region where the first substrate held by a first holding section and the second substrate held by a second holding section contact each other, at one portion of the first and second substrates, and expanding the contact region from the one portion by releasing holding of the first substrate by the first holding section, wherein an amount of deformation occurring in a plurality of directions at least in the first substrate differs when the contact region expands, and the substrate stacking apparatus includes a restricting section that restricts misalignment between the first and second substrates caused by a difference in the amount of deformation. In the substrate stacking apparatus above, the restricting section may restrict the misalignment such that an amount of the misalignment is less than or equal to a prescribed value.

A method for friction welding of inter alia coarse grain superalloy components, involving conditioning a shear zone of components to be welded by; a) pre-determining temperature profile for which the material of the shear zone of the components approaches viscoplasticity but does not undergo undesirable phase transformations, b) introducing friction at one or both surfaces of the components to be welded to provide a pre-defined quantum of energy sufficient to generate a peak temperature of the temperature profile at that surface whilst simultaneously applying pressure to the surfaces which is below a pressure which will cause upset at the surface, c) withdrawing the friction and/or pressure allowing the heat to disperse by conduction through the shear zone; d) after the temperature at the surface falls below peak temperature, repeating steps b) and c); and repeating step d) as necessary until the pre-determined temperature gradient is achieved throughout the shear zone.

A method of forming a canister by means of a mechanical bonding of respective layers of a first metal material (tantalum) and a second metal material (niobium) to form a sheet stock, thereby forming the sheet stock into a canister form, wherein the first metal material comprises tantalum and the second metal material comprises at least one of niobium, molybdenum, or steel. The completed canister comprises a first metal material comprising tantalum, and a second metal material mechanically bonded to the first metal material by subjecting the first and second metal materials to at least 1,000,000 psi, to thereby form a canister having an inner diameter of 13-19 millimeters (mm), the second metal material comprising at least one of niobium, molybdenum, or steel.

A method of inserting a rivet into a workpiece comprises moving the rivet and workpiece relative to one another, along a longitudinal axis of the rivet, so as to drive the rivet into the workpiece. The rivet is rotated about its longitudinal axis, relative to the workpiece, for at least part of the time during which it is in contact with the workpiece. The speed of said rotation, or the speed of movement along the longitudinal axis of the rivet, is altered at least once before driving of the rivet into the workpiece is complete. One axial end of the rivet has a tip for piercing the workpiece, and the rivet has a substantially cylindrical shank extending longitudinally from the tip. The shank has one or more surface irregularities.