Optimization of the Process for Electroless Nickel Plating of Optical Fiber Sensor

It is imperative to protect fiber sensors so as to embed them into metal material.Thus an electroless plating process for fibers without coarsening of the fiber surface was established.The optimized electroless plating process was determined using orthogonal tests,by taking into account the post-treatemnt requirement and the adhesion to substrate,electric performance,brightness,and plating rate of the coating.As the results,the optimized plating bath was suggested to be composed of 25 g/L NiSO4·6H2O,20 g/L NaH2PO2·H2O,20 mL/L C3H6O2,20 g/L H3BO3,1 g/L NaF,2 mg/L saccharin,and 2 mg/L H2NCSNH2.The optimized pH value and temperature for the electroless Ni plating were suggested as 4.5 and 86 ℃,respectively.