Comparison of simulation and experimental results for the deposition orientation in localized electrochemical deposition

Abstract

Localized electrochemical deposition (LECD) with real-time image feedback distance control (IFDC) was applied to fabricate high-quality three-dimensional (3D) microstructures. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between the deposition orientation of the 3D microstructures and the electric field strength by simulation. To predict the deposition orientation of the 3D microstructures, we proposed three methods to analyze the distribution of electric field strength using characteristic directions calculated by the maximum (electric field) strength, weighted average, and midpoint (over a certain threshold value) methods. Compared with the experimental results, the midpoint method with a 50% threshold value provided the best prediction for the deposition orientation. In addition, the deposition orientation did not change significantly when the experiments were performed with different working voltages at the same microelectrode-structure distance.