Cupracid CuStrike Ds v3

Version: 03

ACID COPPER

Doc.-No.: 2239

DATA SHEET

IMDS-No.: 736943

Cupracid® CuStrike Acid pre copper copper plating plating process for for plating on plastics

CONTENTS

Process Information..........................................................................................................................................2 Equipment........................................................................................................................................................2 Pre-Trea Pre-Treatmen tmentt Recomme Recommendat ndation ion for Plating Plating on Plastics......................... Plastics......................... ........................... .................. ............ ...... .......4 .4 Working Parameters.........................................................................................................................................4 Make-Up..........................................................................................................................................................6 Maintenance.....................................................................................................................................................7 Effect of the Additives....................................................................................................................................8 Chloride.....................................................................................................................................................8 Cupracid CuStrike Make-Up.......................................................................................................................8 Cupracid CuStrike Replenisher..................................................................................................................8 Character Characteristics istics of the Additives during Electrolyte Electrolyte Cleaning........................... Cleaning........................... ........................... ..................... 9 Application Application Guideline Guidelines................................ s................................ ........................... .......................... ........................... ........... ...........9 ...... .....9 Anti-Pitting Anti-Pitting Additive Additives.................................. s.................................. ........................... ........................... .................... ............. ....... ............ ..........10 ....10 SAP No. for Make - Up and Maintena Maintenance nce Products..................................... Products..................................... ........................... ......................... 10 Analytical Analytical Instructio Instructions............................................ ns............................................ ........................... .......................... .......................... ..........11 ...... ....11 Determina Determination tion of Copper Copper by by Titration....................................... Titration....................................... ........................... .......................... ............ ...... .........11 ...11 Determination of Chloride by Titration.........................................................................................................13 Determina Determination tion of Sulfur Sulfuric ic acid by Titration........................................ Titration........................................ .......................... ................. .......... ............. ............ ..........15 ....15

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Acid pre copper plating process for plating on plastics

Process Information •

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Cupracid CuStrike is an electrolytic copper strike process based on sulfuric acid basis for plating on plastic applications. Cupracid CuStrike produces a first highly conductive copper strike deposit with good metal throwing power directly onto electroless nickel or after immersion copper. Cupracid CuStrike can be used before plating with Cupracid HT, Cupracid 210, Cupracid Ultra, Cupracid 300, Cupracid 5000 and Cupracid PL. Cupracid CuStrike produces bright, fine-grained, ductile deposits even at deeply recessed areas. Cupracid CuStrike minimizes “burn off” problems on the intersection of rack contacts and plasti c parts and burnings at rack contacts.

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Cupracid CuStrike is a high temperature process, which is operated at temperatures up to 35 °C.

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Cupracid CuStrike is an easy to control process with only one additive for replenishment.

Equipment Filtration

Continuous filtration required. To remove solid impurities a filtration rate of 5 – 6 tank volumes per hour is recommended. Filter area should be 10 – 20 cm2 per liter electrolyte volume.

Tank

Mild steel with hard rubber lining or PVC/Polyester-reinforced material. Polypropylene.

Exhaust

Required.

Heating / Cooling

Heat exchanger made of Graphite, PTFE, PVC or Polyethylene. Heating or cooling coils made of titan (grounded or anodically biased (to prevent bipolarity effects)).


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Mechanical agitation

Recommended. Additional usage of cathode rod agitation is advantageous in order to reach all parts of the rack by the air stream.

horizontal vertical

length of stroke 100 mm 60 mm

double stroke/min 20 – 25 25 – 30

Cathode agitation should be preferably horizontal. Air agitation

Required. The volume of air required for this purpose is approx. 10 – 20 m3 per hour and meter cathode rod length. The air agitation pipes are situated parallel to the cathode rod, approx. 50 – 80 mm above the bottom of the tank. Depending on the size of the tank, they are equipped with holes with a diameter of about 3 mm drilled at intervals of 80 – 100 mm at an angle of 45° to the bottom of the tank. Each pipe has two rows of holes set opposite to each other at intervals of 40 – 50 mm. It is advisable to install at least two agitation pipes (internal diameter 20 – 40 mm) in the bath. The distance between the pipes should be 150 – 250 mm. Suitable materials are PP, PVC or polyethylene.

Anodes

Special copper anodes with a phosphorus content of 0.03 – 0.06 %, like bar anodes or copper balls or clippings in titanium anode baskets are required. The anodes must be provided with bags made of special acidresistant, fully synthetic material (e.g. PP). Anode bag frames with suitable bags made of special fully synthetic material are applicable.


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Pre-Treatment Recommendation for Plating on Plastics Process with Immersion Copper

Examples

Electroless Nickel

Noviganth LFS

3 Rinses

30 sec each

Pre-dip

2 % (v/v) sulfuric acid, 1 min. at 25 °C,

Immersion Copper

Adhemax Immersion Cu, 2 min. at 30 °C

Copper Strike

Cupracid CuStrike, 6 min at 35 °C

Rinse

pH < 3, 30 sec

Acid Copper

Cupracid HT

Working Parameters Metal content

approx. 30 g/l Cu

Acid content

approx. 140 g/l sulfuric acid

pH-value

Less than 1; does not need to be monitored

Bath temperature

35 °C (32 – 38 °C)

Plating time

6 min (4 – 10 min)

Filter aid

Diatomaceous earth or filter cellulose (A minor increase of additive consumption might occur for usage of diatomaceous earth)

Voltage

1.0 – 2.5 V


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Current density

Cathodic: Anodic:

0.5 A/dm2 (0.3 – 0.8 A/dm2) > 0.5 A/dm2

To form the required anode film an anodic current density greater than 0.5 A/dm 2 is needed. Current efficiency

100 % for cathode and anode

Anode : Cathode ratio

1:1

Rate of deposition

0.7 µm Cu at 0.5 A/dm² in 6 minutes

The numbers in the following table have been rounded up and down respectively to the full minute: Current density A/dm2

0.3 0.4 A/dm2 0.5 A/dm2 0.6 A/dm2 0.7 A/dm2 0.8 A/dm2

Layer thickness in µm 1 µm 15 min 11 min 9 min 8 min 6 min 6 min

1.5 µm 23 min 17 min 14 min 11 min 10 min 8 min

2 µm 30 min 23 min 18 min 15 min 13 min 11 min


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Make-Up Make-up of 100 l Cupracid CuStrike Water, deionized Copper(II)sulfate 5 H2O* •

Sulfuric acid (chem. pure, 96 % (w/w), d = 1.84 kg/l) Sodium chloride (chem. pure) Cupracid CuStrike Make-Up Cupracid CuStrike Replenisher * Fe: max. 0.1 % (w/w); Cl: max. 0.02 % (w/w)

Liter

kg

approx. 85.0 ---

approx. 85.0 12.0

7.61 --0.3 0.02

14.0 0.0165 (16.5 g) 0.3 0.02

IMPORTANT NOTE: In all work with Cupracid CuStrike, make sure that all regulations on operations with sulfuric acid solutions are carefully observed!

Make-Up Sequence •

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The copper sulfate is dissolved in half the amount of required DI-water in an extra tank made of PVC, polyethylene or stainless steel. To accelerate the dissoluti on of the copper sulfate the water should be heated up to 50 – 60 °C. As soon as the copper salt is completely dissolved, 5 g/l powdered, activated carbon (low sulfur, low iron; suitable activated carbon can be purchased from Atotech) is added and is allowed to react for about 1 hour while stirring frequently and thoroughly. Afterwards the agitation is t urned off for 3 – 4 hours to allow the activated carbon to settle to the bottom of the tank. The solution is filtered into the plating tank and filled with DI-water to nearly the required amount. The filtration needs to be carried out very carefully as residues of activated carbon particles can cause matt copper deposits. It is also necessary to clean thoroughly the filter afterwards to avoid later contamination by residues of activated carbon if the filter is used for the continuous filtration of the bath. The sulfuric acid is added to the clear blue plating solution while stirring vigorously ( Caution! Wear safety goggles!). Make sure that the temperature does not exceed 60 °C. Allow the plating solution to cool down to about 38 °C. Add while stirring thoroughly sodium chloride diluted in small amounts of water and add also Cupracid CuStrike Make-Up and Cupracid CuStrike Replenisher required for the bath make-up. After make-up it is absolutely necessary to dummy plate the electrolyte for 5 Ah/l to form the anode film.


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Maintenance

Copper Sulfuric acid Chloride ions

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4.0 g/l of copper sulfate (CuSO4

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On Make-Up (During Operation)

Operation Limits

30 g/l (28 – 33 g/l) 140 g/l (135 – 145 g/l) 100 mg/l (90 – 110 mg/l)

25 – 35 g/l 130 – 150 g/l 80 – 120 mg/l

5 H2O) increase the copper content by about 1 g/l.

The dry copper sulfate should be dissolved in warm (40 – 60 °C) DI-water and then treated with 10 mg activated carbon per 1 g copper sulfate (for about 1 hour). Remember to filter before adding to avoid carrying carbon into the plating bath. 0.57 ml/l sulfuric acid (chem. pure, 96 % (w/w), d = 1.84 g/cm 3) increase the sulfuric acid content by about 1 g/l. The sulfuric acid must be added while thoroughly stirring in order to avoid local overheating. 16.5 mg/l sodium chloride (chem. pure) increase the amount of chloride ions by about 10 mg/l. Prior to addition, the sodium chloride must be diluted in a small amount of water.

Required for 10,000 Ah:

9.0 l (8.0 – 10.0 l) Cupracid CuStrike Replenisher The consumption depends on the average current density, type of work, chloride concentration and the temperature of the bath. It is recommended that additions of Cupracid CuStrike Replenisher be made on a frequent basis ex. every 200 – 400 Ah.

If the number of Ampere hours is not 0.1 – 0.2 l (100 – 200 ml) Cupracid CuStrike Replenisher known, the following amounts should be The addition should be done in steps of 100 ml additive per added to 1000 l electrolyte when excessive 1000 l electrolyte. burning occurs in the HCD. If the copper content of the solution decreases below the standard during operation it must be replenished by adding copper(II)sulfate 5 H2O.

For that procedure the salt will be dissolved in warm, DI-water and the solution is then treated with activated carbon as described for „Make-Up“. After thorough filtration the solution can be added to the bath.


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Effect of the Additives Chloride The presence of chloride ions is mandatory for the Cupracid CuStrike plating process, and 100 mg/l chloride is the preferred concentration. Concentrations of 80 mg/l or less may result in high current density burning, overall loss of brightness, and increased additive consumption. In general, there will be little response to the addition agent when the chloride concentrations are beyond the recommended range. Sodium chloride CP grade or CP grade hydrochloric acid should be used as a source of chloride ions.

Cupracid CuStrike Make-Up Cupracid CuStrike Make-Up is only used for make-up and does not need to be controlled.

Cupracid CuStrike Replenisher The average consumption rate of the Cupracid CuStrike Replenisher is 8 – 10 l/10,000 Ah. Additive consumption is related to the average current density, type of work, chloride content and temperature of the bath. Due to the excellent stability of the Cupracid CuStrike process, maintenance replenishments are usually all that is normally required. However, when the bath is idle for even short periods, the air should be turned OFF to prevent evaporation of Cupracid CuStrike Replenisher . The concentration of Cupracid CuStrike Replenisher in the bath can be controlled by the use of an airagitated, 250 ml Hull Cell and supported by visual production results. A Hull Cell panel plated at 3 A per panel for 5 minutes at room temperature will have slight burnings along the high current density edge and will be uniformly bright across the remainder of the panel. Excessive burning in the high current density area is an i ndication of low concentration of Cupracid CuStrike Replenisher and usually an addition of 0.1 – 0.2 ml/l of Cupracid CuStrike Replenisher will reduce or eliminate this condition. Striations in the HCD may be indicative of low chloride concentration or Cupracid CuStrike Make-Up requiring maintenance additions in steps of 0.5 ml/l until improvement is seen. Whenever a new bath is made up or when bags and filter media are changed, the initial addition of Cupracid CuStrike Replenisher may have to be increased slightly. Additions should be made in increments of 0.1 ml/l until normal appearing deposits are obtained. In order to ensure uniform and consistent production results, it is recommended that additions of Cupracid CuStrike Replenisher be made on a frequent basis. Any statements made regarding addition agent control are made on the assumption that all bath constituents and operating conditions are within their recommended limits.


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Characteristics of the Additives during Electrolyte Cleaning The following table shows how much of the additives will be removed when the electrolyte is cleaned by several methods. Product Cupracid CuStrike Make-Up Cupracid CuStrike Replenisher Cupracid Super Wet 42

5 g/l Activated carbon

5 g/l Carbon + 2 g/l KMnO4

1 ml/l H2O2 30 %

100 mg/l NaPS

partly insignificant almost completely

completely completely completely

not at all partly not at all

not at all slightly not at all

NaPS = Sodium persulfate (Na 2S2O8)

Application Guidelines In order to maintain the quality of the deposition, we recommend to carry out the following: The components of the bath should be analyzed regularly, in order to avoid high fluctuations in concentration. For the same reason, it is recommended to run periodically Hull Cell tests. If new titanium baskets and anode bags (made of polypropylene) are used, the f ollowing must be observed: The anode baskets are to be cleaned by means of hot degreasing, to avoid contamination of the electrolyte by oil and metal cuttings. Anode bags are cleaned first in a hot sodium carbonate solution (1.5 % (w/w)) to remove the impregnation followed by a neutralization in a 1 % (w/w) sulfuric acid solution.

Evaporation losses must be replenished with DI-water.


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Anti-Pitting Additives Adverse construction of the air agitation equipment or porous filter systems, among other things, can cause small air bubbles, which are distributed in the electrolyte. These air bubbles adhere preferably at the bottom of the parts and partially disturb the deposition of copper so that pores are formed. Cupracid Super Wet 42 can be used as soon as those air pores occur.

Cupracid Super Wet 42 should be added according to its data sheet.

SAP No. for Make - Up and Maintenance Products PRODUCT

SAP No.

CUPRACID CUSTRIKE MAKE UP CUPRACID CUSTRIKE REPLENISHER CUPRACID SUPER WET 42

1682511 1682384 1668965


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Analytical Instructions Version: 03

Determination of Copper by Titration

Principle:

Doc.-No.: EXT-0410-TIT-03

Complexometric Titration

Reagents required*: • • •

Ammonia solution 5 M; (5 N); (375 ml/l Ammonia solution 25 %); density 0.91 g/cm3) Indicator PAN (0.1% in alcohol) EDTA volumetric solution 0.1 M (EDTA = disodium salt of ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid)

Be sure to observe all local regulations concerning the permitted limits for pollutants, including the general regulations for hazardous materials!

Procedure: • •

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1.0 ml** of the sample is placed into a 500 ml volumetric flask and dilute with 100 ml DI water. Carefully add 5 M of ammonia solution until the colour of the solution turns dark-blue (pH-value of 9.5 – 10.0 is reached). If the copper bath contains a substantial amount of iron, which can be recognized by the precipitated iron hydroxide, a fresh sample must be taken and the iron hydroxide held in solution by adding about 3.0 g of sodium potassium tartrate (Seignette salt), before addition of 5 M ammonia solution. After addition of few drops of indicator solution titrate with 0.1 M EDTA volumetric solution, until the colour of the solution changes from dark blue to green

The number of ml of 0.1 M EDTA volumetric solution *** used - multiplied with 6.354 – gives the content of copper in g/l.


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Example: During titration of 1.0 ml bath, 8.4 ml of 0.1 M EDTA volumetric solution was used.

Calculation: 8.4 x 6.354 = 53.4 g/l copper.

Quality assurance: For maintenance, calibration of measuring devices and the use of standards and reference materials please refer to the corresponding guidelines.

* Unless otherwise stated, these are always analytical grade substances. ** Volumes given exact to a decimal point must be measured with a volumetric pipette. *** For the purpose of calculation, the factor of the standard solution is assumed to be 1.000 and is therefore not taken into account in the examples.


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Version: 02

Determination of Chloride by Titration


Principle: Potentiometric Titration

Reagents required* • •

Hydrochloric acid 0.1 M; (0.1 N); (8.3 ml/l HCl, density 1.19 g/cm 3) Silver nitrate volumetric solution 0.01 M; (0.01 N) (produced by topping up 100.0 ml of 0.1 M silver nitrate volumetric solution in a 1000 ml volumetric flask)

Measuring apparatus

Titroprocessor or voltmeter with a millivolt scale

Indicator electrode

Ag/AgCl Electrode with silver chloride coating


Coating of the silver electrode The silver electrode (silver wire 2 mm) is thoroughly degreased and connected to the positive pole of a directcurrent generator. A platinum electrode (platinum coil, positive pole for electroanalytical metal deposition) is connected to the negative pole. The electrodes are now immersed to a depth of about 5 - 6 cm in 0.1 M hydrochloric acid and electrolysed while stirring continuously for about 1 - 2 hours, at 1 - 2 mA. After this period of time the silver electrode should have a uniform brown appearance.


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Procedure • • •

50.0 ml** copper bath are placed into a 150 ml beaker and mixed with 50 ml of fully demineralized water. The solution is titrated with 0.01 M silver nitrate volumetric solution until the first turning point (potential jump)

Note: The Titration can be conducted only a turning point titration using a titroprocessor / voltmeter equipped with a Ag/AgCl electrode to determine the endpoint. No visual indication is possible.

The ml of 0.01 M silver nitrate volumetric solution used *** - multiplied with 7.09 – gives the content of chloride ions in mg/l.

Example: Titration of 50.0 ml sample consumed 10.75 ml of 0.01 M silver nitrate standard solution.

Calculation 10.75 x 7.09 = 76 mg/l chloride

Quality assurance: For maintenance,calibration of measuring devices and the use of standards and reference materials please refer to the corresponding guidelines.



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Version: 02

Determination of Sulfuric acid by Titration Principle:


Acid-Base Titration

Reagents required*: • •

Methyl orange indicator solution 0.1 % Sodium Hydroxide volumetric solution 0.1 M; (0.1 N); (4 g/l NaOH)


Procedure: • • •

•

1.0 ml** of the sample are placed into a 250 ml volumetric flask and diluted with 100 ml of DI water. Add 5 drops of methyl orange indicator solution and titrate against 0.1 M sodium hydroxide volumetric solution until the color of the solution changes from red to yellow. Alternatively a titration processor with a pH electrode can be used (titration to the first point of equivalence)

The number of ml of 0.1 M sodium hydroxide volumetric solution used *** - multiplied with 4.9 - gives the content of sulfuric acid in g/l.


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Example: During titration of 1.0 ml of the bath, 11.9 ml of 0.1 M sodium hydroxide volumetric solution was used.

Calculation: 11.9 x 4.9 = 58.3 g/l sulfuric acid.

Quality assurance: For maintenance, calibration of measuring devices and the use of standards and reference materials please refer to the corresponding guidelines.


This sheet shall serve for your information. The content of the sheet is based on our best knowledge. We do not undertake any duty to advise. The contents of the sheet shall not be considered as an agreement on condition and quality of the goods delivered. The decision to use our products for its production purposes is the responsibility of our customer. We can accept liability only for the quality of our products at delivery. If difficulties arise in the application of our products, we propose that you contact our technical service department.

Atotech Deutschland GmbH P.O. Box: 21 07 80 10507 Berlin, Germany Erasmusstraße 20 10553 Berlin, Germany phone +49 (0) 30 349 85 0 fax +49 (0) 30 349 85 777


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