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Properties of an electroless copper process as a function of nickel and cyanide ion concentrations

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Abstract

A cyanide-stabilized electroless copper plating process with nickel as a stress-regulating additive was investigated. Small amounts of nickel or cyanide increase the deposition rate, while large amounts of cyanide decrease the deposition rate. The steady-state mixed potential shifts by – 0.23 V when about 0.05 at.% nickel is co-plated with copper. Cyanide by itself does not change the mixed potential. If nickel is also present, cyanide causes an anodic shift by + 0.09 V. Nickel changes the stress during deposition towards tensile, while cyanide changes it towards compressive. Both nickel and cyanide accelerate the transition to steady-state plating conditions.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Mr. Stefan Schweder for carrying out XRF measurements. SEM images were prepared by Mr. James Ehrman.

Funding

This study was funded by Atotech Deutschland GmbH.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Physics Department, Mount Allison University, Sackville, NB, Canada

    Delilah A. Brown, Alex R. MacDonald, Eamon A. McCarron & Ralf Brüning

  2. Atotech Deutschland GmbH, Erasmusstraße 20, 10553, Berlin, Germany

    Sebastian Zarwell & Tobias Bernhard

Authors
  1. Delilah A. Brown
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  2. Alex R. MacDonald
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  3. Eamon A. McCarron
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  4. Sebastian Zarwell
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  5. Tobias Bernhard
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  6. Ralf Brüning
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Correspondence to Ralf Brüning.

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Brown, D.A., MacDonald, A.R., McCarron, E.A. et al. Properties of an electroless copper process as a function of nickel and cyanide ion concentrations. J Appl Electrochem 51, 795–802 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10800-021-01535-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10800-021-01535-3

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