P-018

Eugenijus Norkus

eugenijus.norkus@ftmc.lt

Aldona Jagminienė, Ina Stankevičienė, Jūratė Vaičiūnienė, Loreta Tamašauskaitė-Tamašiūnaitė

Center for Physical Sciences and Technology (FTMC), Lithuania

Cu-In  alloys deposition by means of electroless plating using Co(II)-ethylenediamine complexes as reducing agents

Indium and indium-containing alloys see wide use in a multitude of soldering applications which make them highly suitable for advanced manufacturing applications. Indium has many attractive properties such as remaining ductile at cryogenic temperatures, compatibility with thick gold metallizations [1]. Copper-Indium (Cu-In) alloys play a crucial role in the development of thin-film solar cell technology due to their specific properties such as uniformity, mechanical strength etc.

The group IB metals (Ag, Au, Cu) films were obtained recently through a novel electroless deposition method, using Co(II) complex compounds as reducing agents. This study focused on the formation of copper alloys of with indium. The primary objective of this study was to investigate the influence of reactant concentrations and solution pH on the Cu-In deposition rate. The indium content in the deposited films was analyzed using Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES). 

Cu-In films were deposited onto roughed glass sheet which was first sensitized in a 0.5 g/L SnCl2 solution and later on activated in a 0.5 g/L PdCl2 solution at room temperature.

The electroless deposition rate of Cu-In alloys reached up to 1.3 mg/cm2 per hour, whereas In content in obtained coatings varied from 0 to ca. 2 weight %.