Study of Macroscopic Uniformity and Scale-Ability of Continuous Flow Electroless Plated Au Film

Continuous flow (CF) electroless (EL) plating deposits thin gold (Au) films that exhibit increased continuity and uniformity relative to batch immersion plating as measured by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. The enhanced mass transfer rate and steady, higher average local Au ion concentration achieved during CF plating improves continuity and uniformity of the films. Microscopic uniformity as well as macroscopic uniformity and scale-extension of CF-EF deposited Au film are evaluated by transmission UV-vis spectrtroscopy. The mass transfer models and material balances for CF and batch immersion plating are utilized to estimate the maximum scale extension for uniformly deposited Au films. Uniformly deposited CF-EL metal films with high scale-ability have exciting applications in many fields including aerospace and automotive technology, chemical processing, oil and gas production and food processing.