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Before going on with the topic, I want to spend a little time talk about the layer of stuff on top of the old diaphragm. I call it oxide layer, but there are some different opinions and prefer to call it contamination because gold is not easily to get oxidized. I totally agree with the “hard to get oxidized” part. But the “oxide layer” I referred to is not formed of gold oxide, but the oxide of the particles that were trapped on the surface. If you look into the compositions of those particles, you surly will found some metal elements. And after exposed in the air for a while, these metal elements will get oxidized sooner or later. But regardless the duration of time, this layer of oxide will certainly end up reducing the resistance of the “resistor” I mentioned in one of my previous posts.
Hence, I will keep referring to the layer as "oxide layer".
Before going on with the topic, I want to spend a little time talk about the layer of stuff on top of the old diaphragm. I call it oxide layer, but there are some different opinions and prefer to call it contamination because gold is not easily to get oxidized. I totally agree with the “hard to get oxidized” part. But the “oxide layer” I referred to is not formed of gold oxide, but the oxide of the particles that were trapped on the surface. If you look into the compositions of those particles, you surly will found some metal elements. And after exposed in the air for a while, these metal elements will get oxidized sooner or later. But regardless the duration of time, this layer of oxide will certainly end up reducing the resistance of the “resistor” I mentioned in one of my previous posts.
Hence, I will keep referring to the layer as "oxide layer".