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Electroplating of gold from a solution containing tri-ammonium citrate and sodium sulphite

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Abstract

In this work, a simple non-cyanide gold plating bath has been developed. The slightly acidic electrolyte containing tri-ammonium citrate, KAuCl4 and Na2SO3 has been utilized as the stable gold solution. It is environmentally benign, easy to prepare, easy to control and electrodeposition can be done at room temperature. Plating rates of about 10 μm/h at a current density of 4 mA/cm2 are attainable from a bath (pH 5.5) with 0.411 mol/L (100 g/L) of tri-ammonium citrate, 0.066 mol/L (25 g/L) of KAuCl4 and 0.543 mol/L (68.5 g/L) of Na2SO3. The resultant deposits are dense, with smooth morphology on both blank wafers and patterned wafers.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada for providing research funding and Micralyne for providing metallized Si wafers for electrodeposition.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada, T6G 2G6

    A. He, Q. Liu & D. G. Ivey

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  1. A. He
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  2. Q. Liu
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  3. D. G. Ivey
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Correspondence to A. He.

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He, A., Liu, Q. & Ivey, D.G. Electroplating of gold from a solution containing tri-ammonium citrate and sodium sulphite. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 20, 543–550 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-008-9762-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-008-9762-6

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