High rate of copper electrodeposition from the hexafluorosilicate bath

A high-rate copper electrodeposition performed from a hexafluorosilicate bath is presented in this article. It is shown that the current density for electrodeposition ranges from 1 to 30 A dm(-2) and the optimal suggested current density is 15 A dm(-2) or a rate of 200 mu m h(-1). High plating rate is due to a higher mass transport through the hexafluorosilicate media when compared to a conventional sulphate-based bath. The microstructure, texture and mean grain size of the 30 mu m-thick films plated from the additive free bath and the bath containing 10(-3) mol dm(-3) thiourea and 500 ppm Cl- is studied with respect to the applied current density. Copper plated from the bath without additives has a macrocrystalline structure with preferable 110 texture and mean grain size of 65-85 nm, while thiourea produces a microsmooth surface and 111 texture with grain size of 40-70 nm. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.