Abstract: Disclosed is an electroless plating solution exhibiting a good plating metal filling performance even for larger trenches or vias of several to one hundred and tens of ?m, in a manner free from voids or seams, and allowing maintenance of stabilized performance for prolonged time. The electroless plating solution contains at least a water-soluble metal salt, a reducing agent for reducing metal ions derived from the water-soluble metal salt, and a chelating agent. In addition, the electroless plating solution contains a sulfur-based organic compound as a leveler having at least one aliphatic cyclic group or aromatic cyclic group to which may be linked at least one optional substituent. The aliphatic cyclic group or the aromatic cyclic group contains optional numbers of carbon atoms, oxygen atoms, phosphorus atoms, sulfur atoms and nitrogen atoms.

Abstract: There is disclosed a processing solution for metal replacement for metal aluminum or an aluminum alloy. The processing solution is used for surface processing of an underlying aluminum material. The processing solution for metal replacement removes an oxide film on the underlying aluminum material and suppresses corrosive attack to it to allow a plating film having high smoothness and good plating appearance to be deposited on the underlying aluminum material. The processing solution for metal replacement at least includes a metal salt capable of being replaced with aluminum, and an alkaline compound. A quaternary ammonium hydroxide is contained in the processing solution for metal replacement as the alkaline compound.

Abstract: The regeneration unit includes a tubular portion having the inner circumferential surface functioning as an anode, and a cathode provided inside the tubular portion and extending along the extension direction of the tubular portion in a state of separation from the inner circumferential surface. The treatment liquid used for desmearing treatment is fed through a gap between the inner circumferential surface of the tubular portion and the cathode. A feed-side conduit is connected by a downstream end portion thereof to the tubular portion and guides the treatment liquid discharged from a desmearing treatment tank into a regeneration unit. A return-side conduit is connected by an upstream end portion thereof to the tubular portion and guides the treatment liquid discharged from the regeneration unit into the desmearing treatment tank.

Abstract: Part or whole of an electroless gold plating film of a plated film laminate including an electroless nickel plating film, an electroless palladium plating film and an electroless gold plating film is formed by an electroless gold plating using an electroless gold plating bath including a water-soluble gold compound, a complexing agent, formaldehyde and/or a formaldehyde-bisulfite adduct, and an amine compound represented by the following general formula R1—NH—C2H4—NH—R2 or R3—(CH2—NH—C2H4—NH—CH2)n—R4. The method of the invention does not need two types of baths, a flash gold plating bath and a thick gold plating bath for thickening. Gold plating films of different thicknesses suited for solder bonding or wire bonding can be formed using only one type of gold plating bath.

Abstract: The surface treatment apparatus includes: a supply device for supplying an introduced workpiece to the inside of a treatment cell of a subsequent surface treatment device; a surface treatment device for supplying a surface treatment liquid to the inside of the treatment cell while rotating the treatment cell, thereby performing a surface treatment on the workpiece; a workpiece collection device for inverting the treatment cell, and squirting the inside of the treatment cell with water from below to flow out the workpiece, thereby collecting the workpiece into a collection vessel; a drying device for receiving the collection vessel from the workpiece collection device, and exposing the workpiece within the collection vessel to air, thereby drying the workpiece; and a carrying device for carrying the treatment cell between the surface treatment devices, and between the surface treatment device and the workpiece device, wherein the surface treatment apparatus includes the one or more surface treatment devices.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is an aluminum oxide film remover for removing an oxide film on the surface of aluminum or aluminum alloy, which comprises silver ions and/or copper ions, a solubilizing agent for silver ions and/or copper ions, and a quaternary ammonium hydroxide compound, and has a pH value of 10 to 13.5. A method for surface treatment of aluminum or aluminum alloy is also disclosed, which comprises immersing a workpiece having aluminum or aluminum alloy at least on the surface thereof in the aluminum oxide film remover, and depositing the silver and/or copper contained in the remover on the surface of aluminum or aluminum alloy while removing the aluminum oxide film.

Abstract: The surface treatment apparatus includes: a supply device for supplying an introduced workpiece to the inside of a treatment cell of a subsequent surface treatment device; a surface treatment device for supplying a surface treatment liquid to the inside of the treatment cell while rotating the treatment cell, thereby performing a surface treatment on the workpiece; a workpiece collection device for inverting the treatment cell, and squirting the inside of the treatment cell with water from below to flow out the workpiece, thereby collecting the workpiece into a collection vessel; a drying device for receiving the collection vessel from the workpiece collection device, and exposing the workpiece within the collection vessel to air, thereby drying the workpiece; and a carrying device for carrying the treatment cell between the surface treatment devices, and between the surface treatment device and the workpiece device, wherein the surface treatment apparatus includes the one or more surface treatment devices.

Abstract: A surface processing method and a surface processing agent for effectively removing smear produced in a via or the like are disclosed. The smear is to be removed without etching an inner metalized layer without using expensive permanganates that might impose a greater load on an environment and operators. By removing the smear, the tightness in adhesion between an inner metalized circuit layer and plating metal as well as reliability in electrical connection may be improved. To this end, a surface processing method for a resin-containing substrate of a printed circuit board is provided in which the smear left in an opening, such as a blind via, a through-hole or a trench, formed in the substrate, may be removed without etching a metalized inner layer.

Abstract: The surface treatment apparatus includes: a supply device for supplying an introduced workpiece to the inside of a treatment cell of a subsequent surface treatment device; a surface treatment device for supplying a surface treatment liquid to the inside of the treatment cell while rotating the treatment cell, thereby performing a surface treatment on the workpiece; a workpiece collection device for inverting the treatment cell, and squirting the inside of the treatment cell with water from below to flow out the workpiece, thereby collecting the workpiece into a collection vessel; a drying device for receiving the collection vessel from the workpiece collection device, and exposing the workpiece within the collection vessel to air, thereby drying the workpiece; and a carrying device for carrying the treatment cell between the surface treatment devices, and between the surface treatment device and the workpiece device, wherein the surface treatment apparatus includes the one or more surface treatment devices.

Abstract: A pretreating agent for electroplating includes an aqueous solution containing, as essential ingredient, (A) at least one anti-adsorption agent selected from among a triazole compound, a pyrazole compound, an imidazole compound, a cationic surfactant, and an amphoteric surfactant, and (B) chloride ion. The pretreating agent does not impair adhesion between substrate copper and a photoresist, and does not damage adhesion between the substrate copper and an electrolytic copper plating film.

Abstract: An electroless gold plating bath includes a water-soluble gold compound, a complexing agent, an aldehyde compound, and an amine compound represented by R1—NH—C2H4—NH—R2 or (CH2—NH—C2H4—NH—CH2)n—R4 (wherein R1 to R4 represent —OH, —CH3, —CH2OH, —C2H4OH, —CH2N(CH3)2, —CH2NH(CH2OH), —CH2NH(C2H4OH), —C2H4NH(CH2OH), —C2H4NH(C2H4OH), —CH2N(CH2OH)2, —CH2N(C2H4OH)2, —C2H4N(CH2OH)2 or —C2H4N(C2H4OH)2, and n is an integer of 1 to 4). The electroless gold plating can be carried out without corrosion of an underlying metal to be plated at a stable deposition rate. Because of the high deposition rate and the immersion and reduction types, thickening of a plated coating is possible in one solution and the color of the coating is not degraded to provide a good appearance while keeping a lemon yellow color inherent to gold.

Abstract: A continuous copper electroplating method wherein copper is continuously plated on a workpiece to be placed in a plating vessel accommodating a copper sulfate plating bath containing organic additives by use of a soluble or insoluble anode and a workpiece as a cathode, the method including overflowing the plating bath from the plating vessel in an overflow vessel under which the plating bath in the overflow vessel is returned to the plating vessel, providing an oxidative decomposition vessel, and returning a plating bath from the oxidative decomposition vessel through the overflow vessel to the plating vessel to circulate the plating bath between the plating vessel and oxidative decomposition vessel, and metallic copper is immersed in the plating bath in the oxidative decomposition vessel and exposed to air bubbling, so that decomposed/degenerated organic products formed by decomposition or degeneration produced during the copper electroplating can be oxidatively decomposed.

Abstract: An electroless gold plating bath includes a water-soluble gold compound, a complexing agent, a formaldehyde metabisulfite adduct, and an amine compound represented by R1—NH—C2H4—NH—R2 or (CH2—NH—C2H4—NH—CH2)n—R4 (wherein R1 to R4 represent —OH, —CH3, —CH2OH, —C2H4OH, —CH2N(CH3)2, —CH2NH(CH2OH), —CH2NH(C2H4OH), —C2H4NH(CH2OH), —C2H4NH(C2H4OH), —CH2N(CH2OH)2, —CH2N(C2H4OH)2, —C2H4N(CH2OH)2 or —C2H4N(C2H4OH)2, and n is an integer of 1 to 4). A gold plated coating of a good appearance can be formed without causing a failure in appearance owing to the progress of intergranular corrosion in a nickel surface.

Abstract: A workpiece surface treatment system, which obtains a surface-treated workpiece by sequentially carrying a treatment cell containing a workpiece to a series of apparatuses for operations in the respective apparatuses, is characterized by including: a carrying apparatus for sequentially carrying the treatment cell to a series of the apparatuses in the system; a carrying-in/out apparatus for carrying the treatment cell in and out of the carrying apparatus; a surface treatment apparatus for performing a surface treatment on the workpiece by receiving the treatment cell from the carrying apparatus and supplying a surface treatment liquid to the inside of the treatment cell while rotating the treatment cell; and a workpiece collection apparatus for collecting the workpiece by receiving the treatment cell from the carrying apparatus, inverting the treatment cell, and squirting the inside of the treatment cell with water from below to flow out the workpiece, wherein the carrying apparatus carries the treatment cell

Abstract: A workpiece surface treatment system (1), which obtains a surface-treated workpiece by sequentially carrying a treatment cell (9) containing a workpiece to a series of apparatuses for operations in the respective apparatuses, is characterized by including: a carrying apparatus (2) for sequentially carrying the treatment cell (9) to a series of the apparatuses in the system; a carrying-in/out apparatus (3) for carrying the treatment cell in and out of the carrying apparatus; a surface treatment apparatus (4) for performing a surface treatment on the workpiece by receiving the treatment cell from the carrying apparatus and supplying a surface treatment liquid to the inside of the treatment cell while rotating the treatment cell; and a workpiece collection apparatus (5) for collecting the workpiece by receiving the treatment cell from the carrying apparatus, inverting the treatment cell, and squirting the inside of the treatment cell with water from below to flow out the workpiece, wherein the carrying apparatus

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a copper electrolytic plating bath including copper sulfate used in an amount of 50 to 250 g/liter calculated as copper sulfate pentahydrate, 20 to 200 g/liter of sulfuric acid, and 20 to 150 mg/liter of a chloride ion, and a sulfur atom-containing organic compound and a nitrogen atom-containing organic compound serving as organic additives. The nitrogen atom-containing organic compound includes a nitrogen atom-containing polymer compound obtained by a two-stage reaction including reacting one mole of morpholine with two moles of epichlorohydrin in an acidic aqueous solution to obtain a reaction product and further reacting one to two moles, relative to one mole of the morpholine, of imidazole with the reaction product.

Abstract: For use for a circuit board where a through hole and a blind via hole co-exist, an electrolytic copper plating bath in which the covering power for the through hole and the plugging performance for the blind via hole are sufficient, and an electroplating method that uses the electrolytic copper plating bath, are disclosed. The electrolytic copper plating bath is mainly composed of a water-soluble copper salt, sulfuric acid and chloride ions. A polyamide polyamine, obtained on processing by heating of an epichlorohydrin modified product of a polycondensation product of diethylene triamine, adipic acid and ?-caprolactam, is contained in the bath as a leveler.

Abstract: An electrolytic plating equipment includes: a plating tank for holding plating solution; and a separate tank apart from the plating tank, for holding the plating solution circulating between the plating tank and the separate tank. The separate tank contains a first space and a second space located downstream from the first space. The plating solution in the first space in an amount exceeding a specific height flows from the first space into the second space, and the plating solution falls through air in the second space.

Abstract: A semiconductor apparatus includes an aluminum electrode film formed on a semiconductor chip; and a nickel plated layer formed on the aluminum electrode film, wherein a concentration of sodium and potassium present in the nickel plated layer and at an interface between the nickel plated layer and the aluminum electrode film is 3.20×1014 atoms/cm2 or less.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is an electrolytic copper plating process for electroplating copper on workpieces in a copper sulfate plating bath filled in a plating tank and containing an organic additive while using a soluble anode or insoluble anode as an anode and the workpieces as cathodes, including the steps of, setting a bath current density at not higher than 5 A/L, immersing metal copper in a region of the copper sulfate plating bath, the region being apart from a region between the anode and the cathode and also from regions adjacent the anode and cathode, respectively, such that a neighborhood of the thus-immersed metal copper can be used as an oxidative decomposition region, setting an immersed area of the metal copper at not smaller than 0.001 dm2/L based on the plating bath, and applying air bubbling to the oxidative decomposition region at not lower than 0.01 L/dm2·min based on the immersed area.