Direct electroplating on nonconductors

Recently proposed processes for direct electroplating on nonconductive substrates offer numerous advantages. The industrial implementation of such processes is, however, hampered by lack of understanding. Presented is a model for this class of processes based on three synergistic mechanisms: (I) stepwise propagation through the seed clusters that serve as sequentially activated microelectrodes, (II) preferential accessibility to current of the sharp edge, and (III) kinetics-based enhancement due to the fast propagation of an additive-free edge. The model has been computer simulated and verified by experiments of copper electroplating on nonconductive (glass fiber) substrates.