Metalic coating on alumina substrates by autocatalityc reduction processes (electroless)

In this work, a method for obtaining copper coating on alumina is described. One of the main applications for this coating is in the electronic industry, although it can be used as well as interlayer for dissimilar bonding between metals and alumina, both by solid state joining and by active brazing. The optimal activation conditions for the alumina using Ni salts and the influence of the surface preparation on the copper coating characteristic are described. The coating application is based on an autocatalithic reduction method. The influence of the deposition rate on the adherence of the copper coating has been studied as well. A kinetic study was carried out applying gravimetric and electrochemical methods. To obtaining coating with high adherence, it was necessary to apply heat treatments after the metallization process. The main objective of them was to achieve a chemical bond between the alumina substrate and the copper coating by formation of Al-Cu spinels, instead of the single mechanical bond.