Bridge Rectifiers? Copper backed

**HipoGear** · 08-11-2017, 05:22 PM

So I'm taking apart some power boards. This is leftover from the 1987 hard drives I scrapped last fall. There is one of these on each one. The back plate is chunky and made of solid copper, close to 1/8" thick. So I decided to smash one open. Looking for recommendations and just any helpful info on these.

I'm not sure that I can get anything else to let go of the copper backing. Any idea what the other metals might be?

Thanks!!

**eesakiwi** · 08-12-2017, 05:37 AM

I have a 8 gallon plastic bucket almost full of those and the power transistors. For the Copper content.

There's Silicon (metal) on them and I have wondered what's the story with that being in a Copper refiners melt.
On the other hand, its escrap, its expected to be in there.

They would probably go into 'Contaminated Copper' or 'Electric motors' or such.
I got a tin of them and put it in the fire (years ago) to burn off the plastic and chucked that into my 'Domestic Copper' pile. 2lbs.

Oh, and I found a Old School (Paper circa 1978 ) NZ$5 & $2 &$1 note rolled up under a house I am scrapping down at the moment, today.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/reserv...57673245904681

**alloy2** · 08-12-2017, 11:41 AM

Hipogear inside the rectifier some metals that could harm your health, your better off saving them in a bucket just as Eesakiwi does.

Power diodes are primarily manufactured with Silicon but Gallium arsenide is also used sometimes. Materials such as Phosphorus, Arsenic and Germanium are used as dopants to form the anode (n+) while Boron, Aluminium and Gallium are used as dopants to form the cathode (p+).