Copper electroplating

Copper electroplating is the process of electroplating a layer of copper onto the surface of a metal object. Copper is used both as a standalone coating and as an undercoat onto which other metals are subsequently plated. The copper layer can be decorative, provide corrosion resistance, increase electrical and thermal conductivity, or improve the adhesion of additional deposits to the substrate. Copper electroplating takes place in an electrolytic cell using electrolysis. As with all plating processes, the part to be plated must be cleaned before depositing metal to remove soils, grease, oxides, and defects. After precleaning, the part is immersed in the cell's aqueous electrolyte solution and functions as the cathode. A copper anode is also immersed in the solution. During plating, a direct electric current is applied to the cell which causes the copper in the anode to dissolve into the electrolyte through oxidation, losing electrons and ionizing into copper cations. The copper cations form a coordination complex with salts present in the electrolyte, after which they are transported from the anode to the cathode. At the cathode, the copper ions are reduced to metallic copper by gaining electrons. This causes a thin, solid, metallic copper film to deposit onto the surface of the part. The anodes can be either simple copper slabs or titanium or steel baskets filled with copper nuggets or balls. The anodes may be placed in anode bags, which are typically made of polypropylene or another fabric and are used to contain insoluble particles that flake off the anode and prevent them from contaminating the plating bath. Copper electroplating baths can be used to plate either a strike or flash coating, which is a thin highly-adherent initial layer that is plated with additional layers of metal and that serves to improve adhesion of the subsequent layers to the underlying substrate, or a thicker coating of copper that may serve as the finish layer or as a standalone coating.