Mechanical Overload Can Fracture Gold-Bearing Joints at the Ni-P Interface

What the evidence preview establishes

The joints failed by brittle interfacial fracture at the nickel-phosphorus/nickel-tin intermetallic interface under impulse bending or tensile overload. Excessive gold content, gold-tin intermetallic plates, and trapped flux and gas reduced process margin but were secondary to mechanical loading.

Why this case matters

High gold content may reduce joint robustness without defining the actual failure path. Fracture-surface location and overload witnesses should establish the primary mechanism before contributing metallurgical conditions are ranked.