plating efficiency. The process has a variety of both decorative and engineering applications. Decorative applications Decorative copper electroplating takes advantage of the high levelling power of copper bath formulations that produce bright deposits, the ability of copper to cover defects in the base metal, and the softness of copper that makes it easy to buff and polish for a glossy finish. While copper may be used as the final decorative surface layer, it is usually subsequently plated with other metals that are more resistant to wear or tarnish such as chromium, nickel, or gold; in this case, the brightness of the copper undercoat enhances the appearance of the subsequent finish layer. Products that utilize decorative copper plating include automotive trim, furniture, door and cabinet handles, light fixtures, kitchen utensils, other household goods, and apparel. Copper plating is also used for minting currency. Engineering applications Copper electroplating sees widespread usage in the manufacture of electrical and electronic devices, owing to copper's high electrical conductivity – it is the second-most electrically conductive metal after silver. Copper is electroplated onto printed circuit boards to add metal to the through holes and fabricate the board's conductive circuit traces. This is done either through a subtractive process where copper is plated as a blanket unpatterned layer that is subsequently etched with a patterned mask to form the desired circuitry (panel plating), or through an additive or semi-additive process where a patterned mask that exposes the desired circuitry is applied to the board followed by copper plating onto the unmasked circuit areas (pattern plating). The semiconductor industry uses the damascene process to pattern-plate copper into vias and trenches of interconnects for metallization. Copper is also used to plate steel wire for electrical cabling applications. As a soft metal, copper is also malleable and so has the inherent flexibility to maintain adhesion even if a substrate is subject to being bent and manipulated post plating. When electroplated, copper provides a smooth and even coverage which therefore provides an excellent base for additional coating or plating processes. Corrosion resistance is another advantage to copper. Although copper is not as effective at resisting corrosion as nickel and so is commonly used as a base layer for nickel if enhanced corrosion protection is needed; typically the case for materials that are required to work in marine and subsea environments. Lastly, copper has anti-bacterial properties and so is used in some