Compensating element for thermal or mechanical strain, especially for a printed circuit, and process for making such an element for use in a printed circuit

Elément de compensation caractérisé en ce qu'il est constitué partiellement ou complètement d'un alliage pseudoélastique ou à mémoire de forme subissant de façon réversible des déformations importantes, même sous de très faibles contraintes et utilisé notamment dans les circuits imprimés. A printed circuit comprising an electrically insulating substrate and an electrically conductive layer on the substrate, this layer being a pseudo-elastic or elastically deformable alloy that undergoes significant deformations in a reversible manner and is a copper alloy containing at least 50% by weight copper in the form of large-grained polycrystals that undergo martensitic transformation. Preferably, the layer contains 60-80% by weight of copper, the large-grained polycrystals having a grain size of at least about 3 mm. The martensitic transformation takes place within the temperature range -55 DEG C. to +125 DEG C., and the layer has a thickness between 30 mu and 200 mu , preferably about 100 mu .