Electroplated Rhodium as a Functional Adhesion Layer

Abstract

Electroplated Rhodium is deposited in thin films used for aesthetic purposes in the mass manufacturing of jewelry and functional coatings on optical fibers, spark plugs, and thermocouples. Our interest in electroplating rhodium is creating a functional adhesion layer. In this work we vary electroplating conditions to maximize adhesion onto semiconductor material substrates such as silicon. We target pull strength as our desired metric for comparing adhesion of rhodium thin films while varying electroplating deposition conditions. These variables include cleaning of substrates, activation, pulse plating, DC plating, metal thickness, and annealing. These results could be applied to the mass manufacturing of electroplated rhodium targeting optics, microelectronics, and printed circuit boards where adhesion is critical to functionality, as well as other possible industries. Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC., a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International, Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA0003525 SAND2022-10340A