Post on 28-Apr-2018
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SILVERON™ GT-101 Bright Silver
Cyanide-Free Silver Plating Process
Content
BackgroundOperating ParametersPerformanceSummary
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Background
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Electroplated silver is used in an increasingly diverse range of applications and industrial segments for both decorative and functional finishes.
Replacing the traditional cyanide electrolyte brings significant benefits to the electroplate process.
Excellent solderabilityGood adhesion over Copper and Nickel (with strike plate)Low contact resistanceBright to Semi-Bright, white appearanceWide operating windowHigh efficiency
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Operating Parameters
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Chemicals RequiredCurrent Density
0.5 – 2 A/dm2
Current Density
2 – 15 A/dm2
Silver (as Ag metal) 20 g/L 40 g/L
Free complexing agent 75 g/L 75 g/L
SILVERONTM GT-101 Brightener 10 mL/L ---
SILVERONTM GT-101 HS Brightener --- 20 mL/L
SILVERONTM GT-101 HS Additive --- 40 mL/L
pH 9.5 9.5
Temperature 50°C 50°C
Anode Pure silver anode Pure silver anode
Cathode efficiency Ca.100% Ca.100%
Plating rate 0.6µm in 1 minute at 1A/dm2 5µm in 1 minute at 8A/dm29µm in 1 minute at 15A/dm2(>10A/dm2, jet or wire plating)
Optimum operating parameters for SILVERONTM GT-101 Silver Bath
Performance
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SILVERON GT-101 Bright Silver deposit over nickel on connector pins
Appearance
SILVERON GT-101 Bright SilverProduction testing for decorative application
SILVERON™ GT-101 Bright Silver exhibits white and semi-bright to mirror bright appearance
Grain Structure
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Grain structure of silver deposit from SILVERONTM GT-101 Bright Silver
SILVERONTM GT-101 Bright Silver showing uniform grain structure Average grain size, 50nm
Purity
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Silver Plating ProductCarbon Content
(% w/w)
Other co-deposited
metals
Purity
SILVERONTM GT-101 Bright Silver 0.013 No > 99.9% silver
SILVER GLO 3K Bright Silver (Cyanide based reference deposit)
0.005 Yes ---
Carbon content and purity of deposit from SILVERON GT-101 Bright Silver
SILVERON™ GT-101 Bright Silver delivers high purity, low carbon deposits.
Corrosion
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As PlatedAfter 8hrs
steam ageing
Silver deposits from SILVERON GT-101 Bright Silver show the absence of discolouration after steam ageing
Contact
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10
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
mO
hm
Loading (cN)
Contact Resistance
SILVERON™ GT-101 Bright Silver deposits exhibit low contact resistance
Solderability
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Typical wetting performance of SILVERONTM GT-101 Silver deposit
ZCT = 0.05 s
Wire Bonding
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Machine
Gold wire
Bond force mode
Ultrasonic power
Distance of 1st (ball) and 2nd bond (wedge)
Pull test
ESEC WB3088 iP
25µm
Controlled force
1st bond 32%; 2nd bond 25%
1.0mm
18 tests for each sample
Sample As Plated 150°C / 2 hr 150°C / 2 hr+ 10 min plasma clean
CuAgAg: 0.3µm
PF (cN) PF (cN) PF (cN)
Average 11.02 2.21 5.18
Stdev 0.97 0.59 0.65
CuAgAg: 1.0µm
PF (cN) PF (cN) PF (cN)
Average 13.35 2.86 10.14
Stdev 0.61 0.67 0.66
Gold wire bond pull force on SILVERON GT-101 Silver deposits
SILVERON™ GT-101 Bright Silver shows excellent gold wire boding capability.
Reflectance
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Reflectance of SILVERONTM GT-101 Silver deposits versus a silver reference
65
70
75
80
85
90
95
100
360 400 440 480 520 560 600 640 680 720
Refle
ctan
ce (
%)
Wave length (nm)
Silveron GT-101 Silver on Nickel
Silveron GT-101 Silver on Copper
Silveron GT-101 Silver on Copper (150°C/2h)
Reference Silver (Silver Glo 3110)
SILVERON™ GT-101 Bright Silver shows reflectance values required for LED applications.
Micro Hardness
1414
0
50
100
150
200
250
Silveron GT-101 Cyanide Silver Hard Gold
Room Temp 1hr @ 150C
Har
dnes
s (H
V)H
ardn
ess
(HV)
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Micro hardness (HV)
SILVERON™ GT-101 Bright Silver deposits show higher hardness than deposits from a cyanide electrolyte, after annealing
Friction and Wear
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0
2
4
6
8
10
12
Silveron GT-101 Cyanide Silver Hard Gold
Room Temp 1hr @ 150C
Wea
r R
ate
(mm
3 /N
/mx
10-6)
Wea
r ra
te (
mm
3/
N/
m X
10-
6 ) Wear Rate vs. Steel (100Cr)
SILVERON™ GT-101 Bright Silver deposits show lower wear rate compared todeposits from a cyanide electrolyte, especially after annealing
SummarySILVERONTM GT-101 Bright Silver has been developed to meet the growing requirements for a cyanide free silver electrolyte delivering stable and predictable results over a wide operating window.
This new product is now in production in diverse industry segments for both decorative and functional finishes demonstrating excellent performance.
Cyanide-Free Excellent solderability Good adhesion over copper and nickel (with strike plate) Low contact resistance Bright to semi-bright, white appearance Wide operating window 100% cathode efficiency
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