Oxidation kinetics of thin copper films and wetting behaviour of copper and Organic Solderability Preservatives (OSP) with lead-free solder

► A correlation between Cu oxide thickness and wetting angle was established. ► It was found that the wetting is acceptable only when the Cu oxides are under 16 nm. ► Surfaces coated with Organic Solderability Preservatives (OSP) were also studied. ► Oxidation of surfaces coated with OSP takes place under the organic layer. ► The determined activation energy for the OSP thermal decomposition is 32.6 kJ/mol.