A new laboratory will be opened at the Faculty of Chemistry at VSU as part of the national Science and Universities project. Researchers will study organic additives for the chemical and electrochemical deposition of metals and alloys used in the electronics industry. The scientific division will focus on practical results for the development of domestic microelectronics.
So far, VSU’s application for the new laboratory has successfully passed the pre-qualification process and has been given an approval by the Russian Academy of Sciences. As part of the government R&D order, the project is to obtain financing from the Ministry of Education and Science in the amount of 17 million roubles per year. The establishment of the laboratory at VSU is supported by manufacturing companies: AO NIIME (Zelenograd), AO NIIET (Voronezh), and AO VZPP-Mikron (Voronezh).
The head of the laboratory, Andrey Potapov, DSc in Chemistry, has experience in solving specific production problems. The head of the division carried out research work on projects as part of a government order to universities, in a consortium with industrial partners.
Other members of the research team include Professor Khidmet Shikhaliev, Head of the Department of Organic Chemistry, DSc in Chemistry, and Associate Professor Oleg Kozaderov, Head of the Department of Physical Chemistry, DSc in Chemistry. VSU researchers are responsible for developing methods for the targeted synthesis of polyfunctional organic additives. They also study the deposition of metals and alloys in the presence of synthesised compounds. The average age of the research team at the laboratory, which includes promising young researchers, is no more than 35 years old.
The work of the laboratory is based on the study of the fundamental principles of targeted synthesis of polyfunctional organic additives (catalysts, inhibitors, stabilisers, and other special chemical additives). They are applied in the chemical and electrochemical deposition of metals (e.g. nickel and copper) and alloys used in the electronics industry. The scientific division will develop multifunctional and multicomponent electrolyte compositions for the deposition of metal layers, including for the manufacture of printed circuit boards or integrated circuits.
The laboratory team plans to optimise the conditions of metal and alloy deposition processes as well as the basic physico-chemical properties and performance characteristics of the resulting layers by varying the structure and composition of organic additives. As a result, they intend to develop nickel and copper plating processes using the designed additives for the needs of the microelectronics industry.
