High strength and high conductivity Cu alloys: A review

High strength and high conductivity (HSHC) Cu alloys are widely used in many fields, such as high-speed electric railway contact wires and integrated circuit lead frames. Pure Cu is well known to have excellent electrical conductivity but rather low strength. The main concern of HSHC Cu alloys is how to strengthen the alloy efficiently. However, when the Cu alloys are strengthened by a certain method, their electrical conductivity will inevitably decrease to a certain extent. This review introduces the strengthening methods of HSHC Cu alloys. Then the research progress of some typical HSHC Cu alloys such as Cu-Cr-Zr, Cu-Ni-Si, Cu-Ag, Cu-Mg is reviewed according to different alloy systems. Finally, the development trend of HSHC Cu alloys is forecasted. It is pointed out that precipitation and micro-alloying are effective ways to improve the performance of HSHC Cu alloys. At the same time, the production of HSHC Cu alloys also needs to comply with the large-scale, low-cost development trend of industrialization in the future.