• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.20 no.10
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• pp.555-558
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• 2010

This study examined the effect of current density on the surface morphology and physical properties of copper plated on a polyimide (PI) film. The morphology, crystal structure, and electric characteristics of the electrodeposited copper foil were examined by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and a four-point probe, respectively. The surface roughness, crystal growth orientation and resistivity was controlled using current density. Large particles were observed on the surface of the copper layer electroplated onto a current density of 25 mA/$cm^2$. However, a uniform surface and lower resistivity were obtained with a current density of 10 mA/$cm^2$. One of the important properties of FCCL is the flexibility of the copper foil. High flexibility of FCCL was obtained at a low current density rather than a high current density. Moreover, a reasonable current density is 20 mA/$cm^2$ considering the productivity and mechanical properties of copper foil.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.11 no.7
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• pp.569-574
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• 2001

The crystal structure, surface morphology and preferred orientation of the copper electrodeposit were investigated by the using sulfate bath with $SiO_2$suspensions and the cathode substrate Au sputtered. As by the addition of colloidal silica in copper electrolytic bath and Au pre-coating on substrate, the crystal particles of deposits was fined-down, made uniform and the account of particles were increased. Hardness of copper electrodeposits with colloidal silica increased about 15% in comparison with that of pure copper deposit film and (111), (200) and (311) plane of X-ray diffraction patterns were almost swept away, so preferred orientation of the copper deposits changed from (111) to (110) plane by codeposit $SiO_2$ and precoating the substrate.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.48 no.8
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• pp.757-764
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• 2010

We report on the effect of additives on the microstructure and corrosion properties of electrodeposited Cu films. Copper films were fabricated by electrodeposition on various concentrations of gelatin in a copper sulfate electrolyte. The surface morphologies of the Cu films were observed using a scanning electron microscope (SEM), and crystal orientation of the Cu films was analyzed by X-ray diffraction measurement. (220) plane was the dominant orientation when the films were fabricated at ambient temperature, decreasing in dominance with addition of gelatin. On the other hand, (111) plane-Cu films were preferentially grown at $40^{\circ}C$, and were also diminished with adding additives. Corrosion rate measurements using the Tafel extrapolation method based on corrosion potential and current reveal the effect of additives on corrosion behavior. Corrosion behavior was found to be strongly related to the orientation of the films. Consequently, additives like gelatin influence crystal orientation of the films, and if a less dense crystal plane, e.g. (220), is preferentially oriented during electrodeposition, a lower corrosion rate could be produced, since the plane shows a lower current density.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.49 no.8
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• pp.657-663
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• 2011

This study represents the results of the peel strength and surface morphology according to the preprocessing times of polyimide (PI) in a Cu/Ni/PI structure flexible copper clad laminate production process based on the polyimide. Field emission scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were used to analyze the surface morphology, crystal structure, and interface binding structure of sputtered Ni, Cu, and electrodeposited copper foil layers. The surface roughness of Ni, Cu deposition layers and the crystal structure of electrodeposited Cu layers were varied according to the preprocessing times. In the RF plasma times that were varied by 100-600 seconds in a preprocessing process, the preprocessing applied by about 300-400 seconds showed a homogeneous surface morphology in the metal layers and that also represented high peel strength for the polyimide. Considering the effect of peel strength on plastic deformation, preprocessing times can reasonably be at about 400 seconds.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.48 no.10
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• pp.951-956
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• 2010

This study examined the effect of copper and sulfuric acid concentrations on the surface morphology and physical properties of copper plated on a polyimide (PI) film. Electrochemical experiments with SEM and a four-point probe were performed to characterize the morphology and mechanical characteristics of copper electrodeposited in the composition of an electrolyte. The resistivity and peel strength were controlled using a range of electrolyte compositions. A lower resistivity and high flexibility were obtained when an electrolyte with 20 g/l of copper was used. However, a uniform surface was obtained when a high current density that exceeded $20mA/cm^2$ was applied, which was maintained at copper concentrations exceeding 40 g/l. Increasing sulfuric acid to >150 g/l decreased the peel strength and flexibility. The lowest resistivity and fine adhesion were detected at a $Cu^{2+}:H_2SO_4$ ratio of 50:100 g/l.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.21-27
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• 2011

A nano-porous structure of tin oxide was prepared using an anodic oxidation process and the sample's electrochemical properties were evaluated for application as an anode in a rechargeable lithium battery. Microscopic images of the as-anodized sample indicated that it has a nano-porous structure with an average pore size of several tens of nanometers and a pore wall size of about 10 nanometers; the structural/compositional analyses proved that it is amorphous stannous oxide (SnO). The powder form of the as-anodized specimen was satisfactorily lithiated and delithiated as the anode in a lithium battery. Furthermore, it showed high initial reversible capacity and superior rate performance when compared to previous fabrication attempts. Its excellent electrode performance is probably due to the effective alleviation of strain arising from a cycling-induced large volume change and the short diffusion length of lithium through the nano-structured sample. To further enhance the rate performance, the attempt was made to create porous tin oxide film on copper substrate by anodizing the electrodeposited tin. Nevertheless, the full anodization of tin film on a copper substrate led to the mechanical disintegration of the anodic tin oxide, due most likely to the vigorous gas evolution and the surface oxidation of copper substrate. The adhesion of anodic tin oxide to the substrate, together with the initial reversibility and cycling stability, needs to be further improved for its application to high-power electrode materials in lithium batteries.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.158-165
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• 1994

Cu-Cr alloy thin film requires good quality of etching be used for TAB technology. The etched cross sec-tion was clean enough when the etching was performed in 0.1M $FeCl_3$ solution at $50^{\circ}C$. The etching rate was increased with the amount of $KMnO_4$. For enhanced profile of cross section and rate, the spray etchning was found to be superior compared to the immersion etching. A series of experiments were performed to improve the uniformity of the current distribution in electrodeposition onto the substrate with lithographic patterns. Copper was electrodeposited from quiescent-solution, paddle-agitated-solution, and air-bubbled-solution to in-vestigate the effect of the fluid flow. The thickness profile of the specimen measured by profilmetry has the non uniformity at feature scale in quiescent-solution, because of the longitudinal vortex roll caused by the natural convection. However, uniform thickness profile was achieved in paddle-agitated or air bubbled solu-tion.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.214-220
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• 2018

We report on the fabrication and photoelectrochemical(PEC) properties of a $Cu_2O$ thin film/ZnO nanorod array oxide p-n heterojunction structure with ZnO nanorods embedded in $Cu_2O$ thin film as an efficient photoelectrode for solar-driven water splitting. A vertically oriented n-type ZnO nanorod array was first prepared on an indium-tin-oxide-coated glass substrate via a seed-mediated hydrothermal synthesis method and then a p-type $Cu_2O$ thin film was directly electrodeposited onto the vertically oriented ZnO nanorods array to form an oxide semiconductor heterostructure. The crystalline phases and morphologies of the heterojunction materials were characterized using X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy as well as Raman scattering. The PEC properties of the fabricated $Cu_2O/ZnO$ p-n heterojunction photoelectrode were evaluated by photocurrent conversion efficiency measurements under white light illumination. From the observed PEC current density versus voltage (J-V) behavior, the $Cu_2O/ZnO$ photoelectrode was found to exhibit a negligible dark current and high photocurrent density, e.g., $0.77mA/cm^2$ at 0.5 V vs $Hg/HgCl_2$ in a $1mM\;Na_2SO_4$ electrolyte, revealing an effective operation of the oxide heterostructure. In particular, a significant PEC performance was observed even at an applied bias of 0 V vs $Hg/HgCl_2$, which made the device self-powered. The observed PEC performance was attributed to some synergistic effect of the p-n bilayer heterostructure on the formation of a built-in potential, including the light absorption and separation processes of photoinduced charge carriers.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.7-16
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• 2015

Effects of chemical composition ($Cu^{2+}$, $K_4P_2O_7$ and additive concentrations) of baths on properties of Cu thin films electrodeposited from pyrophosphate copper bath were investigated. Current efficiency was increased to be near 100% with increasing $Cu^{2+}$ concentrations from 0.02 to 0.3M. Decrease of current efficiency was observed in the range of 1.5~1.8M $K_4P_2O_7$ concentration, but current efficiency of about 100% was measured in the ranges of both 0.9~1.3M and 2.1~2.4M. The change of additive concentration did not influenced current efficiency. Residual stress of electrodeposited Cu thin films was measured to be about 20 MPa below 0.15 M $Cu^{2+}$ concentration and increased with the increase of it to 0.25 M. Maximum residual stress of 120MPa was observed at 0.25M $Cu^{2+}$ concentration. On the other hand, residual stress decreased from 80 to near 0 MPa as $K_4P_2O_7$ concentration varied from 0.9 to 2.4M and but The change of additive concentration did not affected on residual stress. $Cu^{2+}$ and $K_4P_2O_7$ concentrations significantly affect on surface morphology of electrodeposited Cu thin films, but additive concentration slightly affected. From XRD analysis, the microstructures of electrodeposited Cu thin film was affected from the changes of $Cu^{2+}$ and $K_4P_2O_7$ concentrations, but not from that of additive concentration. Strong preferred orientation of (111) peak was observed with increasing $Cu^{2+}$ and $K_4P_2O_7$ concentrations.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.31 no.11
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• pp.3077-3083
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• 2010

The electrochemical detection of As(III) was investigated on a platinum-iron(III) nanoparticles modified multiwalled carbon nanotube on glassy carbon electrode(nanoPt-Fe(III)/MWCNT/GCE) in 0.1 M $H_2SO_4$. The nanoPt-Fe(III)/MWCNT/GCE was prepared via continuous potential cycling in the range from -0.8 to 0.7 V (vs. Ag/AgCl), in 0.1 M KCl solution containing 0.9 mM $K_2PtCl_6$ and 0.6 mM $FeCl_3$. The Pt nanoparticles and iron oxide were co-electrodeposited into the MWCNT-Nafion composite film on GCE. The resulting electrode was examined by cyclic voltammetry (CV), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and anodic stripping voltammetry (ASV). For the detection of As(III), the nanoPt-Fe(III)/MWCNT/GCE showed low detection limit of 10 nM (0.75 ppb) and high sensitivity of $4.76\;{\mu}A{\mu}M^{-1}$, while the World Health Organization's guideline value of arsenic for drinking water is 10 ppb. It is worth to note that the electrode presents no interference from copper ion, which is the most serious interfering species in arsenic detection.