Hi

I did not do any electroplating but I have done a lot of surface chemistry on
Mo.

If the MoOx is the problem.

Mo surface always has thin native oxide , as it is in most of the metals. But
when the surface is passivated with this oxide, further oxidation almost stops.

You can etch this oxide in various ways but as soon as you bring the Mo in air
it will re oxidize, a thin layer like 1-2 nm thick,

Someone did suggest a website:

http://www.ee.byu.edu/cleanroom/wet_etch.phtml

The suggested method in this web site is HCl+H2O2. In this method H2O2 oxidizes
Mo and acid dissolves it, as a result  Mo gets etched. However this will never
remove the oxide, final surface will allways have oxide due to H2O2. Also it is
an isotropic and very fast etchant. Depending on how thick Mo is but you can
loose all Mo in seconds. You can try acid only.

Also You can use dry etching like, fluorine or chlorine chemistry would etch it
but you need to find a way to transfer it to your electroplating apparatus
without bringing it to air.

cheers

ozgur,,,

> Date: Mon, 29 Jun 2009 11:26:00 +0300
> From: pradeep.ntu@gmail.com
> To: mems-talk@memsnet.org
> Subject: [mems-talk] Oxidation of Molybdenum
>
> Hello Everyone,
>
> I would like to check something with you:
>
> 1. Has any one tried to electroplate copper on a Molybdenum seed layer ?
>
> 2. I think, Molybdenum oxidizes easily. Does anyone have an idea on how to
remove
> Molybdenum oxide ? wet etching or dry plasma etching?
>
> Any suggestions will be highly appreciated.
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
> Pradeep Dixit