kovar

thumb|Assortment of Kovar metal shapes from an advertisement in a 1950 electronics magazine

Kovar (trademark of CRS Holdings, inc., Delaware) is a nickel–cobalt ferrous alloy compositionally identical to Fernico 1, designed to have substantially the same thermal expansion characteristics as borosilicate glass (≈ between , to ≈ at 800 °C) to allow a tight mechanical joint between the two materials over a range of temperatures. It finds application in glass-to-metal seals in scientific apparatus, and conductors entering glass envelopes of electronic parts such as vacuum tubes (valves), X-ray and microwave tubes and some lightbulbs.