Numerical simulations and electrochemical experiments of the mass transfer of microvias electroforming under ultrasonic agitation

This paper explores the mass transfer mechanism of microvias electroforming under ultrasonic agitation by numerical simulations and electrochemical experiments. Firstly, the velocity distribution of electroforming solution inside the microvias under ultrasound treatment is simulated by COMSOL Multiphysics software. The ultrasonic frequency is that of 120 kHz. The ultrasonic powers are 100 W, 200 W, 300 W and 400 W, respectively. The simulation results indicate that the mean liquid velocity inside the microvias increases with the increasing of acoustic power. In addition, under a certain ultrasonic power, the mean liquid velocity will decrease with increasing the distance between microvias and transducer, the aspect ratio of microvias and the distance between cathode and central position. Secondly, electrochemical experiments are presented to investigate the effect of ultrasonic agitation on the electrode kinetics of microvias electroforming. It is found that ultrasonic treatment decreases the thickness of diffusion layer, increases the limiting diffusion current densities and further enhances the mass transfer of microvias electroforming. Compared with the silent condition, the diffusion layer thicknesses with the acoustic power of 100 W, 200 W, 300 W, 400 W are decreased by 50.0%, 64.1%, 69.3% and 74.5%, respectively. Finally, according to the results above, the 200 × 200 metal micro-column array structures are fabricated by ultrasonic electroforming under the condition of 120 kHz and 200 W. The metal micro-column is 250 μm high and has a diameter of 80 μm. The results show that ultrasonic electroforming can enhance the mass transfer of microvias electroforming, and further solve the problem of porous structure in electroforming layer. This work contributes to expanding the application of ultrasonic agitation in the microvias electroforming.