MODELLING ELECTRODEPOSITION TOPOGRAPHY
Abhijeet Shukla1, Mark Robison2, *Michael L. Free2
1
1716 SW 173rd Ter
Beaverton, OR 97003
2
University of Utah
135 S. 1460 E. Rm 417
Salt Lake City, UT 84112
(*Corresponding author: michael.free@utah.edu)
ABSTRACT
Metal electrodeposition is important to many industries, including those associated with metal recovery
electronics, and plating. The topography of metal deposits plays an important role in product quality and
energy utilization in these industries. Consequently, it is important to understand the role of various
parameters in determining the electrodeposit profile. In this study we present fundamentals associated with
electrodeposition thickness profiles and related modelling along with associated experimental data for
copper deposition. Results show that modelling using complex finite element methods as well as empirical
methods can be effective in accurately prediction electrodeposition profiles (see Figure 1).
Deposit Thickness/Peak
1.2
1
0.8
Experimental
0.6
Robison-Free
0.4
Comsol Model
0.2
0
2
0
2
Distance from left center of 2-inch diameter pipe (cm)
Figure 1. Experimental deposit profile, COMSOL Multiphysics finite element model deposit profile, and
Robison-Free equation predicted deposit profile using a large pipe cathode and flat plate anode with 40 g/L
Cu2+, 160 g/L H2SO4, 42.9 µg/L thiourea, and 26.4 µg/L glue at 45 C° and t=14400s and i=400A/m2
KEYWORDS
Electrodeposition, copper, electrowinning, electrorefining, modeling