Micro and Nano Letters   2016 年 11 卷 9 期

2016.09.01

Silver (Ag) film has wide applications in micro-electromechanical system such as reference electrode, interconnect and inductance. The majority of Ag metallisation patterning is realised by dry technology, which is inefficient and high cost. Electroplating process using negative photoresist SU-8 as the electroplating mould has been reported for Ag film patterning. However, the UV solidified SU-8 is difficult to remove. An acid cyanide-free Ag plating bath (thiosulphate bath) has been introduced to fabricate patterned Ag film using the positive photoresist as the electroplating mould, which is environment-friendly and compatible with the micro-electromechanical systems process. The Ag film with different line widths was fabricated by micromachining process. Compared to the reported bath, the Ag film presented here had smaller roughness, crystallites and higher hardness, which would improve its performance. A low cost, efficient and environment-friendly method to fabricate thick patterned Ag film, which had potential applications in electronic industry and medical apparatus, was provided.