Self-assembled nickel–phosphorus micro-dot arrays deposited by non-isothermal deposition method

Micro-dots of nickel–phosphorus alloy (Ni–P) deposited on ITO substrates using non-isothermal deposition method (NITD) were studied. The Ni–P micro-dots can be successfully deposited onto ITO substrate without utilizing complicated pretreatment of Pd/Sn sensitizer, and the number density and mean size of these dots can be controlled by governing the process parameters such as reacting time, substrate temperature, the clearance width and the amount of stabilizer. Adding 100 ppm stabilizer (thiourea) to the plating solution help to reduce the size of deposition dots from sub-micro-scale to nano-scale. The capability of controlling the number density of dots and the dot size in NITD method has potential for the application of micro-dots to some industries such as catalysts on CNT growth, low temperature growth of poly-silicon, etc.