Gold Plating

Gold Plating
Gold Plating Station
Equipment Details
Technology	Wet bench
Materials Restriction	Metals
Sample Size	6" wafer to 1cm pieces
Chemicals Used	BDT 510-510 Makeup, BDT Brightener, Sodium Sulfate (Anhydrous)
Equipment Manual
Overview	System Overview
Operating Procedure	SOP
Supported Processes	Supported Processes
User Processes	User Processes
Maintenance	Maintenance

Warning:

This page has not been released yet.

Gold plating is typically used for depositing thicker layers of gold onto the surface of the sample. The sample has a seed layer of gold or copper, patterned photoresist and the gold is deposited into the exposed area. It is important that you know the amount of exposed area for the calculations required to use the tool.

Announcements

• The tank is currently empty. Please create a help desk ticket if you need to use the gold plating station.

Capabilities

• Plating rate (based on 2mA/cm² open area) 100nm/min
• Very small features and high aspect ratios may limit plating rate because of depletion of gold ions in the feature
• Aspect ratio is normally limited by photoresist
• Typical plating thickness ranges from 0.1 to 20um. If you are plating thicker than 20um please contact a tool engineer.

System overview

Hardware details

• BDT-510 makeup (plating solution itself)
• BDT Brightener (an additive for improving surface finish)
• Sodium Sulphate (anhydrous) CAS # 7757-82-6
• Glass tank
• Wafter holder
• Platinum Annode on teflon holder
• Hotplate with temperature probe
• Filter and filter pump
• Programmable current source (DC)
• Digital Volt Meter

Substrate requirements

• small pieces to 6" wafers
• All substrates

Safety

Proper PPE for this bench are apron, face shield, trionic gloves and safety glasses

Warning:

You must use the buddy system for all chemical processing. No processing if you are alone in the lab. If the yellow warning lights are on it means that there are 2 or 1 people in the lab.

Working with chemicals can be very dangerous. Chemicals used at this bench are some of the most hazardous in the lab. To minimize the chance of accident, make sure you always:

• Wear personal protective equipment. Required PPE at this bench is an apron, face shield, and Trionic gloves.
• Know the properties and hazards of chemicals you are working with. If you don’t know, find out by reading about them or asking staff.
• Plan the details of your process. Before you start working, plan what quantities of chemicals and sample carriers you will use. Plan how you will rinse your sample and what you will do with any waste generated. Make sure you know how the controllers work.
• Do not use this bench without proper training.
• Waste from this bench goes into the LNF’s acid waste neutralization system and then to city sewers.
  • No gold plating solution can be used or disposed of here.

Material restrictions

The Gold Plating is designated as a Metals class tool. Below is a list of approved materials for the tool. Approved means the material is allowed in the tool under normal circumstances. If a material is not listed, please create a helpdesk ticket or email info@lnf.umich.edu for any material requests or questions.

Approved materials

Supported processes

The only process utilized on this tool is DC gold plating. For resists, we have found that SPR220 is not a good plating resist. 9260, KMPR, and SU8 all make very good plating molds and can be patterned in very high aspect ratios.

Standard operating procedure

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Checkout procedure

1. Read through this page and the Standard Operating Procedure above.
2. Create a Helpdesk Ticket requesting training.
3. A tool engineer will schedule a time for initial training.
4. Practice with your mentor or another authorized user until you are comfortable with tool operation.
5. Schedule a checkout session with a tool engineer via the helpdesk ticket system. If this checkout is successful, the engineer will authorize you on the tool.

Maintenance

• The solution is changed after 50 Amp-hours
• Brightener is added when the surface of the plated gold becomes rough
• If you find issues with the plating, please create a helpdesk ticket