'L-CELL' - A NOVEL DEVICE FOR PLATING PROCESS DIAGNOSTICS

摘要

Current technology for plating process characterization is based exclusively on the Hull-Cell or derivatives thereof, which provide only qualitative information based on visual inspection of the deposit. A novel device, which enables in a single automated and fast experiment to quantitatively determine the critical process parameters, while providing also visual sampling of the deposit at different, precisely determined, current densities is described. The device is based on simultaneously depositing metal at different, pre-determined current densities on a segmented cathode. The current/voltage data for each of the segments is recorded and analyzed by a software program, which provides complete process parameters and diagnostics. Examples including the effect of additives and the pH in the plating of copper and nickel are presented.