• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.56 no.8
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• pp.1436-1440
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• 2007

Beryllium copper has been known to be an important material for the various fields of industry because it can be used for mechanical and electrical/electronic components that are subjected to elevated temperatures (up to $400^{\circ}C$ for short times). Blade type tip for probing the cells of liquid crystal display(LCD) was fabricated using beryllium copper foil. The dry film resist was employed as a mask for patterning of the blade type tip. The beryllium copper foil was etched using hydrochloric acidic iron-chloride solution. The concentration, temperature, and composition ratio of hydrochloric acidic iron-chloride solution affect the etching characteristics of beryllium copper foil. Nickel with the thickness of $3{\mu}m$ was electroplated on the patterned copper beryllium foil for enhancing its hardness, followed by electroplating gold for increasing its electrical conductivity. Finally, the dry film resist on the bridge was removed and half of the nickel was etched to complete the blade type tip.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.67 no.3
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• pp.413-418
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• 2018

In this paper, we describe the development of a non-enzymatic glucose sensor based on copper nanocubes(Cu NCs) electroplated laser induced graphene(LIG) electrodes which can detect a certain range of glucose concentrations. $CO_2$ laser equipment was used to form LIG electrodes on the PI film. This fabrication method allows easy control of the LIG electrode size and shape. The Cu NCs were electrochemically deposited on the LIG electrodes to improve electron transfer rates and thus enhancing electrocatalytic reaction with glucose. The average sheet resistances before and after electroplating were $15.6{\Omega}/{\Box}$ and $19.6{\Omega}/{\Box}$, respectively, which confirmed that copper nanocubes were formed on the laser induced graphene electrodes. The prepared electrode was used to measure the current according to glucose concentration using an electrochemical method. The LIG electrodes with Cu NCs demonstrated a high degree of sensitivity ($1643.31{\mu}A/mM{\cdot}cm^2$), good stability with a linear response to glucose ranging from 0.05 mM to 1 mM concentration, and a limit of detection of 0.05 mM. In order to verify that these electrodes can be used as flexible devices, the electrodes were bent to $30^{\circ}$, $90^{\circ}$, and $180^{\circ}$ and cyclic voltammetry measurements were taken while the electrodes were bent. The measured data showed that the peak voltage was almost constant at 0.42 V and the signal was stable even in the flexed condition. Therefore, it is concluded that these electrodes can be used in flexible sensors for detecting glucose in the physiological sample like saliva, tear or sweat.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers Conference
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• 2002.10b
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• pp.435-437
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• 2002

Polishing of copper, a process called copper chemical mechanical polishing, is a critical, intermediate step in the planarization of silicon wafers. During polishing, the electrodeposited copper films are removed by slurries: and the differential polishing rates between copper and the surrounding silicon dioxide leads to a greater removal of the copper. The differential polishing develops dimples and furrows; and the process is called dishing and erosion. In this work, we present the results of experiments on dishing and erosion of copper-CMP, using patterned silicon wafers. Results are analyzed for the pattern factors and properties of the copper layers. Three types of pads - plain, perforated, and grooved - were used for polishing. The effect of slurry chemistries and pad soaking is also reported.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.71-74
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• 2009

Electroplated Cu is a cost efficient metallization method in microelectronic packaging applications. Typically in 3-D chip staking technology, utilizing through silicon via (TSV), electroplated Cu metallization is inevitable for the throughput as well as reducing the cost of ownership (COO).To achieve a comparable film quality to sputtering or CVD, a pre-cleaning process as well as plating process is crucial. In this research, atmospheric plasma is employed to reduce the usage of chemicals, such as trichloroethylene (TCE) and sodium hydroxide (NaHO), by substituting the chemical assisted organic cleaning process with plasma surface treatment for Cu electroplating. By employing atmospheric plasma treatment, marginally acceptable electroplating and cleaning results are achieved without the use of hazardous chemicals. The experimental results show that the substitution of the chemical process with plasma treatment is plausible from an environmentally friendly aspect. In addition, plasma treatment on immersion Sn/Cu was also performed to find out the solderability of plasma treated Sn/Cu for practical industrial applications.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.218-224
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• 2010

Direct copper electroplating on Mg alloy AZ31B was carried out in a traditional pyrophosphate copper bath containing potassium fluoride. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and polarization methods were used to study the effects of added potassium fluoride on electrochemical behavior. The chemical state of magnesium alloy in the electroplating bath was analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Adhesion of the copper electroplated layer was also tested. Due to the added potassium fluoride, a magnesium fluoride film was formed in the pyrophosphate copper bath. This fluoride film inhibits dissolution of Mg alloy and enables to electroplate copper directly on it. A dense copper layer was formed on the Mg alloy. Moreover, this copper layer has a good adhesion with Mg alloy substrate.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.61-66
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• 2018

This research scrutinizes the self-annealing characteristics of copper used to metal interconnection for application of DRAM fabrication process. As the time goes after the copper deposited, the grain of copper is growing. It is called self-annealing. We use the electroplating method for copper deposition and estimate two kinds of electroplating chemicals having different organic additives. As the time of self-annealing is elapsed, sheet resistance decreases with logarithmic dependence of time and is finally saturated. The improvement of sheet resistance is approximately 20%. The saturation time of experimental sample is shorter than that of reference sample. We can find that self-annealing is highly efficient in grain growth of copper through the measurement of TEM analysis. The structure of copper grain is similar to the bamboo type useful for current flow. The results of thermal excursion characteristics show that the reliability of self-annealed sample is better than that of sample annealed at higher temperature. The self-annealed sample is not contained in hillock. The self-annealed samples grow until $2{\mu}m$ and develop in [100] direction more favorable for reliability.

• 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.17 no.5
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• pp.283-288
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• 2007

This study aimed to investigate the effects of the seed layer with copper electroplating on the surface morphology of copper foil. Three kinds of seed metal such as platinum, palladium, Pt-Pd alloy were used in this study. Electrodeposition was carried out with the constant current density of 200 $mA/cm^2$ for 68 seconds. Electrochemical experiments, in conjunction with SEM, XRD, AFM and four-point probe, were performed to characterize the morphology and mechanical characteristics of copper foil. Large particles were observed on the surface of the copper deposition layer when a copper foil was electroplated on the 130 nm thickness of Pd, Pt-Pd seed layer. However, a homogeneous surface, low resistivity was obtained when the 260 nm thickness of Pt, Pt-Pd alloy seed layer was used. The minimum value of resistivity was 2.216 ${\mu}{\Omega}-cm$ at the 260 nm thickness of Pt-Pd seed layer.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.40-43
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• 2009

We investigated the corrosion resistance of Zn and Cu coated steel pipes as a substitute for Cu pipe in an air-conditioner system. In addition, the galvanic corrosion tendency between two dissimilar metal parts was studied. The corrosion resistance of the Cu electroplated steel was similar to that of Cu, while the corrosion rate of the Zn electro- galvanized and the galvalume (Zn-55 % Al) coated steels was much higher and not suitable for Cu substitute in artificial sea water and acidic rain environments. Furthermore, the galvanic difference between Cu electroplated steel and Cu was so small that the Cu coated steel pipe can be used as a substitute for Cu pipe in an air-conditioner system.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 2010.05a
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• pp.48.1-48.1
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• 2010

Cu has been used for metallic interconnects in ULSI applications because of its lower resistivity according to the scaling down of semiconductor devices. The resistivity of Cu lines will affect the RC delay and will limit signal propagation in integrated circuits. In this study, we investigated the characteristics of electroplated Cu films according to the variation of concentration of organic additives. The plating electrolyte composed of $CuSO_4{\cdot}5H_2O$, $H_2SO_4$ and HCl, was fixed. The sheet resistance was measured with a four-point probe and the material properties were investigated with XRD (X-ray Diffraction), AFM (Atomic Force Microscope), FE-SEM (Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope) and XPS (X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy). From these experimental results, we found that the organic additives play an important role in formation of Cu film with lower resistivity by EPD.