Stress in deposits

Deposition of nickel at rates up to 1 mm/h in the concentrated solution is described by Kendrick . If pure nickel anodes are operated at a current density between 0-5 and 1-OA/dm in suiphamate solutions, a substance which behaves as a stress reducer is produced continuously in sufficient quantity that the stress in deposits can be varied at will from compressive to tensile by adjusting cathode current density and solution temperature. This finding is exploited with the concentrated suiphamate solution in the Ni-Speed processand in a further development cobalt is added to give deposits of... 

Ductility Tests. The ductihty of plated metals differs considerably from the corresponding thermally cast metals. Additionally, ductihty which is an important property if parts are to be deformed after plating, varies with the chemical composition of the plating solution, as well as the operating conditions of a given plating process. Ductihty can also be important when plated parts are stressed in use. Some metal deposits have coefficients of... 

Macrostrain is often observed in modified surfaces such as deposited thin films or corrosion layers. This results from compressive or tensile stress in the plane of the sample surface and causes shifts in diffraction peak positions. Such stresses can easily be analyzed by standard techniques if the surface layer is thick enough to detect a few diffraction peaks at high angles of incidence. If the film is too thin these techniques cannot be used and analysis can only be performed by assuming an un-... 

The mechanical properties, especially the internal stresses set up by interaction of substrate and deposit, have a close bearing on the behavior of metallic interconnects (electrical conductors) in integrated circuits. Such interconnects suffer from more diseases than does a drink-sodden and tobacco-crazed invalid, and stress-states play roughly the role of nicotine poisoning. A very good review specifically of stresses in films is by Nix (1989). 

Electrodeposits of Pt can only be applied as relatively thin coatings that are porous. Although the porosity decreases with increase in deposit thickness, so does the internal stress and if the platinum adhesion is poor the coating may exfoliate. As a consequence, thicknesses of 2-5 to 1-5 fim Pt... 

Material Density (g/cm 1 Coating weight (kg/m ) 0-025 mm thickness Brinell hardness Ratio of contraction stresses in sprayed deposits 0-51 mm thick Compressive strength (stress to collapse) (MN/m )... 

Internal stress of copper deposits may vary between —3.4MN/m (compressive) and -1- l(X)MN/m (tensile). In general, tensile stress is considerably lower in deposits from the sulphate bath than in those from cyanide solutions " , while pyrophosphate copper deposits give intermediate values. In cyanide solutions, tensile stress increases with metal concentration and temperature decreases if the free cyanide concentration is raised. P.r. current significantly lowers tensile stress. With some exceptions, inorganic impurities tend to increase tensile stress . Thiocyanate may produce compressive stress in cyanide baths . 

Silver is often preferred as an undercoat for rhodium by reason of its high electrical conductivity. A further advantage of silver in the case of the thicker rhodium deposits (0-0025 mm) applied to electrical contacts for wear resistance is that the use of a relatively soft undercoat permits some stress relief of the rhodium deposit by plastic deformation of the under-layer, and hence reduces the tendency to cracking , with a corresponding improvement in protective value. Nickel, on the other hand, may be employed to provide a measure of mechanical support, and hence enhanced wear resistance, for a thin rhodium deposit. A nickel undercoating is so used on copper printed connectors, where the thickness of rhodium that may be applied from conventional electrolytes is limited by the tendency of the plating solution to attack the copper/laminate adhesive, and by the lifting effect of internal stress in the rhodium deposit. 

Plasma CVD tends to create undesirable compressive stresses in the deposit particularly at the lower frequencies. This may not be a problem in very thin films used in semiconductor applications, but in thicker films typical of metallurgical applications, the process is conducive to spalling and cracking. 

Mixed-frequency deposition of the nitride is one possibility to adjust the stress in the deposited layer [122]. The ratio of the deposition times in the high-frequency (375 kHz) and low-frequency (187.5 kHz) plasma can be varied during the process. For the layer used here 95% high-frequency deposition time was chosen (Fig. 4.14e).The stress was measured on wafer-level with a thin-film stress analyzer. The stress value was determined by recording the curvature of the wafer after thin-film deposition. A tensile stress of 75 5 MPa was measured for the layer. 

Many of the qualitative adhesion tests vary with plate thickness. As indicated above, adhesion is better for thinner deposits. That, it was stated, has to do with the stress present in deposited films. A specified plating thickness should therefore be a given parameter requirement for adhesion testing. 

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