AlBeMet® and E Materials are engineered materials made principally of beryllium. AlBeMet® comes in two formulations, AlBeMet® 140 and AlBeMet® 162, with 40% and 62% beryllium by weight, respectively. Aluminum-beryllium was originally developed for the SR-71 aircraft in the 1960’s and dubbed “LockAlloy”. Aluminum-beryllium under the AlBeMet® trade name was reintroduced in the early 1990’s by Brush Wellman.
AlBeMet® is a metal matrix composite, consisting of separate phases of pure aluminum and pure beryllium. This gives AlBeMet® a synergistic combination of the toughness, ductility and machinability of aluminum, combined with all the great properties of beryllium.
E Materials are available as E20 and E60, with beryllium metal and 20% or 60% beryllium oxide (BeO) by volume, respectively. E Materials were designed to take advantage of the superior thermal dissipation capabilities of beryllium metal and beryllium oxide ceramic material for electronics heat sink applications. These materials can be selected according to their coefficient of thermal expansion to maximize their compatibility with the electronic substrate.