Abstract
Electroless copper (Cu) plating is a key process to provide seed layers for the subsequent Cu electroplating in the printed wiring boards (PWBs). Due to the demand for lower power dissipation at higher temperatures and high signal frequencies, various kinds of organic materials have been newly introduced as substrates. However, they have come with defects such as delamination and/or blisters in the Cu layers on organic substrates, i.e., weak adhesion. Here we demonstrate the root cause and a prevention method of the blister formation. Various parameters affecting the blister formation have been investigated combined with the deposit thickness (internal stress), hydrogen gas evolution, and codeposited Ni content in the electroless Cu plating. It was not obvious that the compressive internal stress in deposits was directly related to the blister formation. Instead, the hydrogen gas evolution clearly turned out to be the key factor, and it was observed that Ni added plating solutions reduced the hydrogen gas evolution significantly and thus produced no blisters in the Cu deposits. The control of blisters would be more critical as the line and space become narrower in the production lines such as ball grid array (BGA) and high density interconnection (HDI).
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Seo, JW., Nam, HS., Lee, S. et al. Prevention of blister formation in electrolessly deposited copper film on organic substrates. Korean J. Chem. Eng. 29, 529–533 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11814-011-0208-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11814-011-0208-0