A novel electroless plating process for preparing a copper film on aluminum nitride (AlN) was developed. This process relies on uniform coating of Cu2O particles onto AlN substrate followed by annealing to form composite oxide layer and Cu particles as the seed for initiating the electroless copper deposition, instead of using Pd catalyst in a conventional electroless plating process. The adhesive strength measured by peel test was more than 4 kg per 2 x 2 mm square (kg/4 mm(2)), much greater than that obtained using conventional electroless plating process. The use of Cu2O particles is crucial in this novel process for direct interconnection between deposited Cu film and AIN substrate, and the composite oxide layer formed after annealing is suggested to be responsible for high adhesive strength obtained. (C) 2002 The Electrochemical Society.