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US 4,781,800 AGranted
Deposition of metal or alloy film
AssigneePresident and Fellows of Harvard College
InventorsLee M. Goldman, Wataru Ohashi, Frans A. Spaepen
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Method and apparatus for plating metal or metal alloy on a well-defined area of the surface of an article by forming a liquid plating bath having its surface maintained slightly above the rim of a container by surface tension and passing the surface to be plated in contact with the surface of the bath and spaced from the rim of the container.
Claims12
Method of plating with metal or alloy a surface of an article which comprises
- providing a liquid bath containing in solution said metal or alloy or a compound thereof,
- continuously supplying fresh solution within said liquid bath and continuously withdrawing solution from beneath the surface of said bath,
- confining the lateral margins of the surface of said bath within a horizontal rim of solid material, said confined surface extending above said rim and being held therewithin solely by surface tension forces,
- bringing only the lower surface of the article to be plated into contact with the surface of said liquid bath without bringing the article surface into contact with said rim, said article surface extending laterally beyond the margins of said liquid bath on every side, and
- maintaining said contact for a time sufficient for a plating deposit of the desired thickness to be built up on said article surface.
2 more elements
Apparatus for plating metal or metal alloy on the surface of an article which comprises
- a container for a liquid plating bath, said container having a horizontal upper rim serving to surround and confine the surface of said bath,
- means for introducing a supply of bath liquid into said container beneath said rim,
- means for withdrawing excess bath liquid from said container beneath said rim,
- and means for maintaining said article with its lower suface extending laterally beyond and spaced above the rim of said container in position to be in contact with the surface of said bath when said container is full.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.