MSE Colloquium Series Speaker Alejo Lifschitz

Alejo Lifschitz

Dupont, Electronic Materials R&D

Senior Scientist

Faculty Host: Linda Doerrer

Student Host: Hannah Skipper

Refreshments at 2:45 PM

Title: Electroless Copper Plating: Challenges and Opportunities in the Electronics Industry

Abstract:

The rapid evolution of electronic technologies requires the constant adaptation of chemical processes for their manufacture. This continuous reinvention is particularly true in electroless copper plating, a capstone technology that enables the use of a wide range of classical and emerging dielectric materials for the manufacture of printed circuit boards (PCBs). In this seminar, we will discuss the key chemical concepts that comprise electroless copper deposition, and we will present recent challenges that have been overcome by the electronics industry as they adapt to new PCB architectures. In doing so, we will discuss the complex electrochemical environment that defines this dynamic multi-variable system, the challenges that this complexity poses, and the opportunities for tinkering and tailoring it offers. Finally, we will present current barriers in electroless metallization that are yet to be tackled as the industry prepares for future technological revolutions such as 5G telecommunications and flexible electronics for the mass market.

Bio:Originally from Argentina, Alejo Lifschitz obtained his PhD at Northwestern University in the Mirkin laboratory, where he focused on the supramolecular assembly of bioinspired inorganic catalysts and their application in photoredox catalysis. He then moved on to the Agapie laboratory in the California Institute of Technology, where he studied olefin oligomerization catalysts and the design of novel photoredox coordination frameworks for small molecule activation. Since 2016, he has been part of the Dow-DuPont Electronic Materials R&D division. His current work includes the development of novel metallization strategies for chip packaging and printed circuit board manufacture.