Method of monitoring major constituents in plating baths containing codepositing constituents

摘要

A method of monitoring the concentration of metal ions comprising a major constituent in a plating bath which is insensitive to the effects of other codepositing constituents within the bath. The method involves applying a brief plating signal to a pretreated electrode positioned within the plating bath solution, applying a stripping signal to the plated electrode, and monitoring the resultant stripping signal response current. Certain characteristics of the stripping signal response current accurately indicate major constituent concentration levels and are unaffected by the codepositing constituents. The method complements and is easily integrated with known voltammetric techniques for analysis of trace constituents, thus forming an integral part of an efficient overall plating bath analysis system. By adjusting major constituent concentration levels in accordance with measurements made using the method of the present invention, a high quality plating bath can be easily and inexpensively maintained.