This study is focused on finding optimised conditions for electrodeposition of NiP and NiP/SiC coatings, which enhance the coatings' microhardness. Both the effect of particles and the effect of heat treatment at 400°C for 1 h on the microhardness of the coating were studied. The effects of pulse electrodeposition parameters including duty cycle, frequency, and peak current density on the composition of NiP and NiP/SiC composite coatings were examined, and the results were compared with those from direct current plating. Pulse plating increased the current efficiency of NiP deposition while decreasing the phosphorus content of these coatings in comparison to direct plating, resulting in higher microhardness values. It was also shown that wt.%P in NiP coating depends not only on peak current density but also on bath charge of pulse plating. Pulse plating parameters (duty cycle and frequency) and the low incorporation of SiC particles did not affect microstructure or the microhardness of the coatings, while heat treatment was the main factor that increased microhardness.
The mission of the European Academy of Surface Technology (EAST) is to promote Europe-wide science, research, training and education in the field of surface technology and related areas in order to contribute to the integration, understanding and friendship between European people and individuals.
Among other actions to fulfil the mission, EAST organises the annual EAST Forum conference. With the purpose to create synergy rather than competition, the EAST Forum is most often integrated with other relevant scientific events. This year, EAST Forum was integrated with the traditional biennial Pulse Plating Symposium in Vienna. This, the 9th Pulse Plating Symposium, took place on 5th to 6th of March in Vienna, Austria. A report of this event is featured elsewhere in this issue of Transactions. 1 EAST also held its annual members meeting in connection with the event.
A highlight at this recent EAST Forum was the annual ceremony for the Schwäbisch Gmünd Prize for Young Scientists.
It has for a long time been known that crack free chromium coatings can be obtained by pulse reversal plating, but it has only much later been understood that reoxidation of hydrogen from the surface during the anodic periods is essential for obtaining crack free deposits. In this paper, it is shown that a specific anodic charge depending on the charge of the previous cathodic pulse is needed to obtain a crack free coating and that residual stress in the coating will be less at more frequent current reversals. Furthermore, too large an anodic charge will result in redissolution of chromium and thereby decrease the current efficiency.
In the eyes of industrialists, scientists often exaggerate the economic potential of their findings. The industrialists know that developing a new technology to production is associated with uncertainty and risks. To elucidate the challenges faced by the surface treatment industry, this paper discusses aspects that should be considered when making innovation out of promising research results. The Technology Readiness Level (TRL) metric for assessing maturity of a technology is discussed and exemplified. Additional risks of fluid character such as legislation, price of raw material and customer expectations are also discussed. Even though, the subject is of general relevance, the present discussion refers to surface technology and examples are given from copper plating of printed circuit boards, and durable and cost-efficient coatings on electrical connectors.
Based on an analysis of the competitiveness of the European surface finishing industry, challenges are discussed and future directions for remaining competitive are recommended. The European surface finishing sector should prioritise advanced production technology for new high-tech and high added value products, and take advantage of disruptive changes in society and technology shifts where completely new areas of application of surface technology can arise. To be successful, surface finishers should meet expectations on price, quality, short lead time, innovation ability, complying with legislation, and brand equity. This should be accomplished by increased automation, closer cooperation within the value chain, and improved competence supply. Such a development is extra challenging for the many small-size sub-contractors in the sector. Basically, improved education and improved organisation between applied research, product development, production development and manufacturing are needed. Therefore, the need is strong for pan-European actions to coordinate and expand education on all levels. Higher competence leads to better reliability, quality, and cost-efficiency. Furthermore, the innovation capability will benefit from improved communication between the different actors in the value chain. Finally, coordinated actions are needed to market surface technology/finishing as an interesting and rewarding field in which to make a career. Europe has a strong tradition in surface finishing and the sector is characterised by a significant diversity. The right competence supply and organisation can make 'cooperative diversity' a European stronghold.
The present paper is part one of two of a report aiming at recommending future directions for the European surface technology industry to remain relevant and competitive. This first part analyses the present status of the competitiveness of the European surface finishing industry, and its relationship to the manufacturing sector, as a base for suggesting actions. Surface finishing is not a stand-alone industry, but an integrated part of manufacturing of most products and thereby an integrated part of the manufacturing chain and follows the rest of the manufacturing if offshored. The drivers for offshoring are changing, and automation of manufacturing makes offshoring less profitable. The European surface finishing sector is characterised by an annual turnover of about US$ 114 Bn, 900,000 employees, and an annual growth rate of 3.6%. Surface finishing accounts for about 5% of all manufacturing of products. About 1/3 of the surface finishing is estimated to be done by sub-contractors and 2/3 in-house. There is a large diversity in technology used and firm size throughout Europe. The average size of European subcontractors is between 11 and 12 employees with the majority being very small with less than 10 employees, which is a challenge for the future development that demands adoption of new technology, legislation, and cooperative structures.
Based on demands for modern printed circuit board (pcb) manufacturing, the copper electroplating process is discussed. Electroplating from an additive free solution using low frequency pulse reversal plating with superimposed cathodic pulsation is suggested, which meets the demands for precise dimensions, high ductility and conductivity, low costs and environmental friendliness.
Backshoring of production to Western Europe has become an increasingly important trend after decades of offshoring. The subject is introduced by a general discussion followed by a specific analysis of the Nordic surface finishing industry. The main finding is that production quality is the main driver for backshoring of surface finishing.
The Assaf panel arrangement was used for evaluating pulse reverse plating processes and optimisation of the throwing power (TP) of complex three-dimensional (3D) geometries. Two different electroplating processes were investigated: an acid copper bath and a cyanide silver bath without additives. It has not been possible to establish a direct correlation factor for TP obtained with the Assaf panel and the 3D objects included in the trials. Nevertheless, the Assaf panel was found to be a useful tool for preliminary process parameter optimisation. The copper bath needs agitation to deposit coatings of good quality, whereas the silver bath obtains the best throwing power without agitation. The latter is probably due to inhibition by adsorbed cyanide.
The influence of electroplating parameters on throwing power (TP) is studied in additive-free silver cyanide solutions under direct current and pulse reverse electroplating conditions. It is found that the best TP is obtained when no agitation of the electrolyte is applied. The most important parameters for controlling the TP are the cathodic current density, the anodic to cathodic charge ratio, and the ratio between the anodic and cathodic current densities. Guidelines for process optimisation are given.
This paper discusses how anodic pulses and periodic current reversion influence electrodeposition. Depending on the involved metal and electrolyte, very different effects can be observed and taken advantage of. The Wagner number, Wa, describing the current distribution is shown to be useful for predicting the throwing power at low frequencies of current reversion, even in complex electrochemical systems, but is less useful at higher frequencies. Passivation can occur due to oxide formation, super-saturation of metal salts or depletion of complexing agents at the electrode surface. Furthermore, dissolution and desorption processes in the anodic period can have strong influence on the succeeding cathodic electrocrystallisation affecting preferred crystal orientation, intrinsic stress and current efficiency. A literature survey is combined with experiments from silver plating from a cyanide bath.
mCBEEs is an acronym for: Advanced integrative solutions to Corrosion problems beyond micro-scale: towards long-term durability of miniaturised Biomedical, Electronic and Energy systems. It is a doctoral student training network funded by the European Commission under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Action scheme in the same way as the recently reported training network SELECTA that is focusing on smart electrodeposited alloys for environmentally sustainable applications.
Leading industrial nations are investing in hydrogen technology as energy storage solution with fuel cells as the main converter to electric energy. Improvements in the performance of the key components: electrode catalyst, bipolar plates and polymer electrolyte membrane are needed to reduce costs for mass-market introduction. Consequently, surface technology has an essential role in meeting the goals.
The importance of advanced surface technology for the success of the ongoing energy turnaround in Germany has recently been discussed in this journal. The purpose of the present article is to add views based on the conditions valid for the Nordic region.
The influence of 25 kHz ultrasound and cathode rotation during electroplating of Ni films on Si wafers has been studied with respect to intrinsic stress formation. Current densities from 1·6 up to 28·3 A dm−2 were used in an additive free Ni sulphamate electrolyte. In general, more efficient agitation by either ultrasound or cathode rotation was found to reduce intrinsic stress towards compressive levels compared with conventional agitation with an electrolyte circulation pump. Furthermore, intrinsic stresses become less dependent on changes in current density. The latter effect is most pronounced for ultrasonic agitation. Structure analysis of samples deposited by ultrasonic agitation shows dense deposits with initially smaller grains at high ultrasonic effect. Locally increased temperature at the substrate surface could be an important effect of ultrasound agitation.
This paper introduces a phenomenological calculation approach for the electrolytic pulse deposition of nickel under high polarisation based on an equivalent electrical circuit. In a quasistationary state of the deposition, the electrolyte resistance and double layer parameters are identified by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and galvanostatic polarisation. The charge-transfer resistance of both the anodic and cathodic electrode double layer is inversely proportional to the current density. This means the overpotentials over the electrode double layers are independent of the current density. For short pulse on-times and off-times (up to 10 ms), the behaviour of the electrolytic cell is mainly determined by the double layer characteristics and the calculation approach therefore allows the prediction of the current-potential behaviour during pulse deposition under high polarisation. For larger pulse widths, the time-dependent evolution of the overpotentials occurring at the electrode/electrolyte interface becomes a determining factor for the cell potential.
The biennial conference, European Pulse Plating Seminar was scheduled to be held in early March for the tenth time as a joint event with the annual conference of the European Academy of Surface Technology, EAST Forum. The pandemic did not allow the conference to be held as planned. Instead, it was integrated with the 14th International Workshop on Electrodeposited Nanostructures (EDNANO). This became an extended event with 25 oral presentations and 16 posters. Many attendees highlighted the value of again being able to meet and interact at a physically attended scientific event. The conference had 44 attendees from 11 different countries.
Over the past decade the European Pulse Plating Seminar has been established as the most important event for discussing research and applications of pulse plating. Now it is organised every second year in the area of Vienna by the company Happy Plating. For the past two years it has been co-organised with the European Academy of Surface Technology, EAST. The pulse plating seminars have made it possible to follow how the application of pulse plating has increased and widened during the last decade since the first seminar in 2006.
Training and establishing networks for the future researchers in our field of surface engineering and metal finishing has been a key focus of EAST (European Academy for Surface Technology). Here the authors briefly describe the mCBEE training network, and how it operates.