#16 - By the end of the 1960s, a vast collection of metallized ceramic packages were being offered by many companies. These packages were configured as dual inline packages with up to 50-leads, and four-sided quad packages with similar quantities of leads. Most of these packages were gold plated, and the metal lids that were attached to the packages after IC chip mounting, were also metal with gold plating. In short, the precious metal costs in these packages reached astronomical levels, so that recycling of old reject devices was a necessity. Recovery of gold throughout the 1960s by semiconductor companies was a major operation. The sequence of reclaim operations necessary to recover the gold and reuse a ceramic package is shown in this collection.
