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ABSTRACT
Copper plating has many different applications in various industries on metal and nonconductor substrates. Plastics and other nonconductors require special treatment before plating. Copper plating is used throughout the metal finishing industry for a wide range of applications with decorative or functional purposes. Copper plating can use either a chemical process or an electrolytic process in an acid or alkaline plating bath. This article deals with chemical and electrolytic acid copper deposition. Bath composition, operating conditions, kinetics, the mechanisms involved and the properties of the coating are discussed
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Hassine Ferid AYEDI: Professor Emeritus - Materials and Environmental Engineering Laboratory - École Nationale d'Ingénieurs de Sfax, University of Sfax, Tunisia
INTRODUCTION
Copper can be deposited on various metal substrates (steels, cast irons, copper alloys, aluminum, magnesium, etc.) or made conductive by an appropriate process. It is widely used in the surface treatment sector in the form of :
decorative finishing for its pink copper appearance. It must be either varnished to prevent rapid oxidation, or artificially aged to obtain a highly decorative finish, which is highly prized for advertising items, household utensils, locksmithing, etc;
undercoat for additional treatments: nickel, silver and tin plating. It then provides good fixation for subsequent coatings and protects the material in hard-to-reach areas. This treatment provides good gloss and high levelling;
metallization of polymers and ceramics. This treatment enables these substrates to combine their own performance with tribological, conductive and aesthetic properties specific to metallic coatings. In this respect, copper plating is of interest to the electromagnetic shielding, telephony, connector, electronics and microelectronics sectors, as well as to the high-end finishing of products linked to the jewelry, cosmetics, sanitaryware or automotive industries, and other everyday objects;
reproduction of parts with complex internal shapes, difficult or impossible to obtain by conventional machining methods, using copper electroplating on a stainless steel or aluminum alloy mandrel. Once the mandrel has been removed, parts several millimeters thick have a perfect internal surface finish and low levels of internal stress. Electroforming is used to manufacture waveguides, antenna horns, mechanical microwave filters, couplers, mode extractors...
Copper plating is a conventional aqueous process. There are two main types: i) chemical and ii) electrolytic in acid or alkaline media, depending on their operating pH. This article deals with chemical and electrolytic copper plating in acid media.
A glossary of terms is provided at the end of the article.
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KEYWORDS
electroless copper | copper electroplating in acidic media | surface treatments in aqueous media | surface conditioning | copper baths
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Metal treatments
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Chemical and electrolytic copper plating in acidic media
About copper
Bibliography
Websites
Legifrance
Ademe
Water Agency
Standards and norms
The AFNOR catalog can be consulted online: http://www.afnor.fr
- Standard Practice for Locating the Thinnest Spot in a Zinc (Galvanized) Coating on Iron or Steel Articles (http://www.astm.org/Standards/A239.htm). - ASTM A239 -
Regulations
Arrêté du 30 juin 2006 relatif aux installations de traitements de surfaces soumises à autorisation au titre de la rubrique 2565 de la nomenclature des installations classées – JORF n° 205 du 5 septembre 2006.
European RoHS Directive (2002/95/EC) – Restriction of use of certain Hazardous Substances in electrical and electronic equipment –
Patents
Post-treatment of copper on printed circuit boards, EP1097618 B1 (March 2003).
Organic solderability preservative compositions, US 005 85 8074A (July 1997).
Directory
European Copper Institute :
International Copper Association :
International Copper Study Group (ICSG):
...Statistical and economic data
Copper has a long history of use, and today it plays a key role in industrial development. Copper deposits are found all over the world, but the largest reserves are in China and the USA. The annual production capacities of the main mines (as of July 2014) are shown in table 1 .
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