Patent ID: 7846503

Claim:
A method for electroless deposition of a nickel-phosphorus layer with internal compressive stress on a substrate, the method comprising: contacting the substrate with an electrolyte buffered to a self-regulating pH between 5.5 and 6.2 and consisting essentially of: nickel acetate in an initial concentration between 0.048 mol/L to 0.105 mol/L, a hypophosphite reducing agent, a complexing agent comprising 2-hydroxypropanoic acid and propanedioic acid, an accelerator, a stabilizer comprising a metal salt wherein the metal is selected from the group consisting of lead, bismuth, zinc, tin, and combinations thereof and the metal salt comprises an anion selected from the group consisting of acetate, formate, nitrate, oxalate, propionate, citrate, ascorbate, and combinations thereof, and is present in a starting concentration of 0.1 to 2 mg/L , and optionally other components selected from the group consisting of phosphorus, additional metals, and finely divided particles; to thereby electrolessly deposit the nickel-phosphorus layer with internal compressive stress on the substrate, wherein the nickel-phosphorus layer comprises between 2 to 7 wt. % phosphorus, and the nickel-phosphorus layer comprising between 2 and 7 wt. % phosphorus is deposited with internal compressive stress between −5 and −30 N/mm 2 and is deposited with ductility > + 0.5% throughout a throughput of 14 to 22 MTO for a total nickel concentration throughput between 70 g/L nickel and 110 g/L nickel.