Novel Electroplating Method Using Foam of an Electrolyte Solution

Electroplating of Nickel Films Using Stable Foam Electrolyte Solution

“…In contrast to our previous result 14) , where the foam was generated from the Watt bath with only 2 to 6 ×10 -3 wt% of SDS, the foam in this paper was generated by adding 0.5 wt% of SDS. The increase in surfactant concentration led to stabilization of the foam, yielding a foam with a high liquid fraction and spatially uniform electrical conductivity.…”

“…This foam contained large quantity of gas cells and was different from the bubbles conventionally used for agitating the solution. It was found that the number of pits and pinholes can be reduced by using the foam electrolyte 14) , 15) . The foam electrolyte can remove the hydrogen bubbles on the cathode surface by mechanisms such as merging the hydrogen bubbles into the bubbles of the foam, or repelling the hydrogen bubbles by collisions with them, depending on the stability of the foam 16) .…”

Electroless plating of Ni thin films using foam of electrolyte

“…On the other hand, the authors developed a new electroplating method that uses foam of the electrolyte in place of conventional liquid electrolyte. 19) It was found that the foam can remove the hydrogen bubbles efficiently from the substrate surface, enabling the formation of pinhole-free thin films. 20) This is because the foam can either capture or push away hydrogen bubbles effectively.…”