Plating bath composition and method for electroless plating of palladium

Abstract

The present invention relates to an aqueous plating bath composition and a method for depositing a palladium layer by electroless plating onto a substrate. The aqueous plating bath composition according to the present invention comprises a source for palladium ions, a reducing agent for palladium ions and an aldehyde compound. The aqueous plating bath composition has an increased deposition rate for palladium while maintaining bath stability. The aqueous plating bath composition has also a prolonged life time. The aldehyde compounds of the present invention allow for adjusting the deposition rate to a constant range over the bath life time and for electrolessly depositing palladium layers at lower temperatures. The aldehyde compounds of the present invention activate electroless palladium plating baths having a low deposition rate and reactivate aged electroless palladium plating baths.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.