9 - Applications of electroless copper deposits

Abstract

A review of the background to electroless copper deposition, basic electroless copper plating procedures, methods for evaluating the mechanical and electrical properties of electroless copper deposit, and the numerical simulation methods for the electroless copper plating process is presented. The history of printed circuit boards (PCBs) is introduced followed by the application of electroless copper deposition in the PCB industry and ultra/very large-scale integration. Following that, the testing methods of mechanical properties, mainly thermal shock resistance, are summarised. In the last part, computer simulation of the electroless copper plating process is reviewed, including simulation based on a diffusion model.