Rapid and quantitative screening of kinetic and mass transfer parameters for materials used in micro and nanofabrication

Demanding line rules and property requirements for electrochemically-grown materials used in fabricated and templated systems motivates a need for quantitative analytical methods that are compatible with fabrication systems. We demonstrate a nanoelectrode array-based analysis method analogous to the Levich–Koutecky equation to enable rapid and quantitative evaluation of surface kinetics and mass transport parameters. The only data needed for the analysis is the radius of individual deposits on the array. We apply this new method to electrodeposition and electroless deposition (ELD) of copper from quiescent electrolytes. The results yield a room temperature cupric ion diffusivity of D = 5.9 × 10− 10 m2/s in acidic copper sulfate electrodeposition bath and an ELD activation energy of EA = 58 kJ/mol in a copper ELD bath with the reducing agent DMAB.

► We demonstrate a nanoelectrode array-based analysis comparable to Levich–Koutecky that is easily used with both electroless and electrodeposition methods.
► We show that the method provides quantitative mass transfer parameters.
► We show that the method provides quantitative kinetic parameters.