Why copper plating

Benefits of Electroplating. Key Benefits of Copper Electroplating. Home Blog. Other Copper Benefits Copper is a soft, malleable metal, making it ideal for plating surfaces and objects in which some flexibility is required. Get the latest industry information and stay up to date with plating and metal finishing solutions.

Therefore, for high-current-density and high-speed processes, the copper ion concentration can be more than double that obtainable in sulfate baths. The fluoborate ion also helps provide solubility and conductivity.

But, when compared with sulfate baths, the fluoborate bath has less throwing power. The copper sulfate bath is more widely used than the fluoborate because it is less expensive. Also, many more additive systems have been developed for copper-sulfate formulations. Copper fluoborate baths are more hazardous to use and harder to waste treat than sulfate baths.

And, as with the sulfate baths, the fluoborate solutions are very corrosive, making careful design of plating equipment important. Chemistry of copper fluoborate baths. If the fluoboric acid concentration is too low pH above 1. Add boric acid to stabilize the bath and to prevent the decomposition of the fluoborate to fluoride. The anode film and its care in a fluoborate bath are very similar to the requirements described for the copper sulfate bath. Contamination, purification.

Lead is the only metallic impurity known to interfere with the deposition of ductile copper from a fluoborate bath. Addition of small amounts of sulfuric acid will remove the lead by precipitation. A batch carbon treatment followed by filtration or continuous carbon filtration will remove most organics from the bath.

The main use of pyro copper is plating of printed circuit boards. The bath has good throwing power, obtaining surface-to-hole ratios of on many PC boards. Some federal agencies specify pyro copper where ductility of the deposit is very important. It is also used for general plating, electroforming and plating on plastics. Even here, though, sulfate acid copper has the largest market share. Pyrophosphate copper baths are mildly alkaline, making them less corrosive than acid baths.

They are essentially non-toxic. They are easy to waste treat, but the phosphate ion is considered a controlled pollutant in some regions. In these cases, controlled waste treatment is required. Specially formulated pyrophosphate baths can be used for copper strikes on steel and zincated aluminum.

Immersion coatings may form on zinc die castings thus cyanide copper strikes are typically used. Chemistry of pyrophosphate paths. Potassium is used instead of sodium because it is more soluble and has a higher electrical conductivity. Free pyrophosphate is essential for the operation of the bath, providing conductivity and anode corrosion.

The presence of nitrate increases maximum allowable current density and reduces cathode polarization. The use of ammonium nitrate improves the quality of the deposit over that obtained if potassium nitrate is used.

Ammonium is added on a regular basis to produce uniform and lustrous deposits and to improve anode corrosion. Excess ammonium can cause copper I to form, which hinders adhesion, but ammonium is easily lost by evaporation. Oxalate is a buffer. Copper pyrophosphate baths are difficult to control.

They require more control and maintenance than cyanide and acid-copper baths. Orthophosphate HPO 4 2- , which is formed by the hydrolysis of pyrophosphate, promotes anode corrosion and acts as a buffer. A pH below 7.

Orthophosphate cannot be chemically removed from pyrophosphate solutions. Therefore, some or all of the bath must be discarded to reduce its concentration. The bath will lose its throwing power and the deposit will be less ductile. A low pH will precipitate copper pyrophosphate and decrease the throwing power of the bath. A high pH will precipitate copper hydroxide, and anode corrosion will decrease.

Potassium hydroxide and pyrophosphoric acid are used for pH adjustments. Current density. The cathode current den-sity is a function of operating temperature and agitation. Throwing power and current efficiency drop sharply with increasing current density. If it is too high, an insoluble oxide tends to form. Permissible current density can be increased by ultrasonic agitation.

Current interruption, current reversal or increasing the copper concentration also will increase the permissible current density range. Many metals can have copper plating , including silver, aluminium, gold and plastic. Any iron based metals will need a nickel base coat as copper does not easily plate onto a passivated surface. Firstly, the material is cleaned ready to be plated to prevent imperfections. Secondly, the electroplating process is applied by passing an electric current through a copper salt electrolyte solution.

By adding two terminals in the solution and connecting them to a power supply, the electricity flows through the circuit and a layer of copper atoms deposit on the metal. Archeological digs have revealed that copper was part of the earliest civilizations. It has been used for a variety of purposes throughout time, ranging from jewelry to sculptures to work tools to cutlery. Copper is malleable and soft and flexible yet durable.

These qualities make copper an extremely accessible and useful material for many applications. Today, copper is widely used in electroplating, which entails using electricity to apply a very thin layer of copper onto another metal or plastic surface.

Copper electroplating is a method used widely in industries, mainly to protect other metals from corrosion.