Electroplating Gold vs. E-Beam Evaporation Gold

Discussion:

Bravo Han

2004-09-03 01:14:12 UTC

Hi folks,

To obtain a layer of Au that is not too thick, for example, just
around 2 microns, are there any significant differences in the final
metal film deposited by electroplating vs. the one by e-beam
evaporation?

Thanks for your attentions and inputs.
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Kasman , Elina

2004-09-03 15:11:16 UTC

Permalink

2 microns is VERY thick for evaporated metal. It will probably crack. I
wouldn't recommend evaporating anything over 1 microns thick, and even
that may be tricky.

-----Original Message-----
From: mems-talk-***@memsnet.org
[mailto:mems-talk-***@memsnet.org] On Behalf Of Bravo Han
Sent: Thursday, September 02, 2004 8:14 PM
To: mems-***@memsnet.org
Subject: [mems-talk] Electroplating Gold vs. E-Beam Evaporation Gold

Hi folks,

To obtain a layer of Au that is not too thick, for example, just around
2 microns, are there any significant differences in the final metal film
deposited by electroplating vs. the one by e-beam evaporation?

Thanks for your attentions and inputs.
_______________________________________________
MEMS-***@memsnet.org mailing list: to unsubscribe or change your list
options, visit http://mail.mems-exchange.org/mailman/listinfo/mems-talk
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Kirt Williams

2004-09-03 16:00:11 UTC

Permalink

A few differences:
Electroplated gold can be a lot rougher than evaporated gold. This will give
a lower reflectance.
Electroplated gold tends to be less dense and have a higher resistivity.
The residual stress for either method can be varied to some degree with the
deposition conditions.
In my experience, it is easier to get good thickness uniformity with
evaporation or sputtering than with electroplating:
the electroplated gold thickness can vary with distance from the electrical
contacts, feature size, where the features are in the solution flow field,
and across features.
A professionally built system (such as those by EEJA) will give better
electroplating results, but these systems are expensive.
--Kirt Williams

----- Original Message -----
From: "Bravo Han" <***@gmail.com>
To: <mems-***@memsnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, September 02, 2004 6:14 PM
Subject: [mems-talk] Electroplating Gold vs. E-Beam Evaporation Gold

Post by Bravo Han
Hi folks,
To obtain a layer of Au that is not too thick, for example, just
around 2 microns, are there any significant differences in the final
metal film deposited by electroplating vs. the one by e-beam
evaporation?
Thanks for your attentions and inputs.
_______________________________________________
options, visit http://mail.mems-exchange.org/mailman/listinfo/mems-talk
Hosted by the MEMS Exchange, providers of MEMS processing services.
Visit us at http://www.memsnet.org/

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IGOR KADIJA

2004-09-07 20:58:42 UTC

Permalink

Bravo,
The quality of electroplated gold depends very much on the quality of
the technique applied. I believe that to be true for any process including
evaporated or sputtered gold. A reasonably well prepared
electroplated gold can be of superior quality including mirror finish
(e.g. mirror finish gold plated jewelry), high purity, 99.9% and higher,
and nearly 100% density. Thickness uniformity and stress can also be
controlled by adopting an adequate chemistry and technique.

If the e-beam technique is conveniently at hand and the physical properties
of a thin deposit are not restrictive, you should utilize the available
process. However, if you need high grade non-porous gold with nearly bulk
characteristics in density, conductivity and stress range, you should
apply electroplated gold.

For an efficient and dependable MEMS
application gold electroplating can not be performed with just a beaker and
power supply. Specialized MEMS electroplating equipment offered
on the market is quite costly. In order to meet the needs and affordability
of limited budget R&D and academic institutions we have designed an
efficient bench-top electroplater for MEMS, currently in use at several
universities and research institutions. Should you need additional
information feel free to contact me directly at 201/670-8397 or by e-mail.

Igor Kadija
ECSI
www.fibrotools.com

----- Original Message -----
From: "Bravo Han" <***@gmail.com>
To: <mems-***@memsnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, September 02, 2004 9:14 PM
Subject: [mems-talk] Electroplating Gold vs. E-Beam Evaporation Gold