Patent ID: 6924232

Claim:
A semiconductor process comprising: providing an electroless plating bath container; dissolving a nickel- or cobalt-containing material in water to form a solution having at least one of nickel and cobalt; adding a first chelating agent to the solution, the first chelating agent having a first stability constant; adding a second chelating agent to the solution, the second chelating agent having a second stability constant different from the first stability constant, the first chelating agent and the second chelating agent functioning to keep the at least one of nickel and cobalt suspended in the solution; adding first and second pH adjusters to the solution to increase pH of the solution, the first and second pH adjusters having different compositions with different pH factors and functioning as buffering agents; adding a diffusion barrier material to the solution; adding at least one surfactant to the solution for enhancing uniformity of plating and chemically stabilizing the solution; adding a boron-containing material to the solution to convert the at least one of nickel and cobalt in the nickel or cobalt-containing material to a solid form; heating the solution to a predetermined temperature; placing a semiconductor device having exposed metal into the electroless plating bath container; plating the semiconductor device to form a barrier film overlying the exposed metal, the barrier film comprising a combination of boron, the diffusion barrier material and at least one of nickel and cobalt; and removing the semiconductor device from the solution.