Observations on the uniformity of immersion tin coatings on copper

The development of chemical tin coatings by a replacement reaction Cu+Sn2+⇒Cu2++Sn from hydrochloric acid based and methanesulphonic acid based baths on the inner surface of a copper tube was studied by transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy in order to explore the factors influencing the uniformity of tin coatings. Despite the fact that tin coatings develop in different ways in studied baths, uniform coatings are equally plated from both these baths when the substrate surface is clean and smooth. However, differences in the surface-sensitivity, i.e. the dependence of coating uniformity on the substrate surface condition, of plating baths materialise when plated on irregular or improperly cleaned substrate. A hydrochloric acid based bath may yield non-uniform coatings on irregular or improperly cleaned substrate, since large-sized grains develop immediately after coating initiation. These large grains are suggested to orientate to follow the contours of impurity particles or surface irregularities introducing misalignment in grain columns and, thus, non-uniformity into coatings. In contrast, a methanesulphonic acid based bath is still able to produce uniform tin coatings on contaminated or rough surfaces, as the coating is proposed to accommodate to substrate surface irregularities by the build-up of a nanocrystalline zone at the early stages of tin coating deposition. Sulfur-containing elements in this methanesulphonic acid based plating bath play the central role in the nanocrystalline layer formation.