A novel electrolyte for the high speed electrodeposition of bright pure tin at elevated temperatures

The newly developed plating bath, SOLDERON™ BHT-350 bright tin, has been designed to be operated at temperatures between room temperature and 50°C, while producing ductile, bright deposits with low whisker growth tendency. Production trials conducted by different industries have demonstrated that the new process is able to produce bright tin deposits under high speed reel-to-reel plating conditions, and the simple additive system facilitates automatic or manual dosing during operation. The resulting bright tin deposits are suitable for connectors, contacts, wire and other items requiring a bright tin finish. In this article, the characteristics of the electrolyte and the properties of the bright tin deposit, including microstructure, carbon content, ductility, texture, solderability and whisker performance are described in detail.