Electroless Deposition of 4 μm High Ni/Au Bumps for 8 μm Pitch Interconnection

We propose that electroless plating is a superb approach to preparing metallic bumps with an ultrafine pitch for the integration of a micro light-emitting diode (micro-LED). Electroless plating does not suffer from lift-off-related issues, which are ubiquitous in thermal evaporation. Besides, it can result in much more uniform bumps than electroplating because the bump height is not affected by the current distribution. This study reports ultrafine pitch Ni/Au bumps fabricated by electroless nickel immersion gold (ENIG) plating. Furthermore, cheap metals iron and nickel are selected to catalyze the electroless nickel process. The results indicate that uniform and consistent Ni/Au bumps can be obtained through the iron sheet and nickel layer method. Besides, no voids and impurities are found inside the bumps, which is beneficial for the following interconnection process. Moreover, the change in Ni bump height values with the electroless plating time is also provided.