Effect of CeO2 particles on the high phosphorus electroless Ni layer
Electroless Ni (EN) technology is widely used in electronic package field and the high phosphorus composite EN technology was studied. In this paper, we discussed the influence of nano-CeO2 and micro-CeO2 particles with different amounts when they were added in high phosphorus content Ni-P composite coating. The microstructure and crystal structure of the coating were observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) respectively. The results showed that whether nano-CeO2 or micro-CeO2, both refined the grain, increased the specific surface area, however the micro-CeO2 particles made more obvious effect. As the XRD result showed, the peak gradually become gentle, the coating turned into amorphous which may cause by the CeO2 particles absorbed in the grain boundary and crystal defects. The results indicated the CeO2 deposited with the coating very well. Finally, the corrosion resistance of the coating was tested with the method of electrochemical impedance (EIS) and linear polarization. The results were unified. When the dosage is 5g/L, the corrosion resistance was the best. However, lower corrosion resistance was got when excessive CeO2 particles were added which may affect by the catalytic property.
Black Pad Susceptibility of the Electroless Ni Films 
on the Cu UBM
The occurrence of black pad in the electroless Ni film during the immersion gold process is related to the surface morphology of the Ni(P) film. A nonuniform distribution of the nodule size and curvature is the crucial factor. Large nodules with small surface curvatures had higher P concentration and did not corrode, while small nodules with large surface curvatures had lower P concentration and corroded. Experiments using different types of Cu substrates suggest that the Ni(P) film black pad susceptibility increased with the defect density and/or the residual stress in the underlying substrate. Annealing the Cu substrate before the electroless Ni plating greatly reduced the black pad formation.
Structural Evolution of Electroless Nickel Bump
An electroless nickel bump deposited from nickel sulfate solution was investigated for its structural evolution with respect to deposition parameters. The pad size, pitch size, and lead acetate concentration were found to affect the bump structure. Three types of representative structure, the broccoli edge, anisotropic, and pyramidal were identified. The effect of depositing parameters on the evolution of these structures is explained in terms of the adsorption behavior of additive and the diffusion mechanism of the nickel ions.