On the homogenization of the thickness of Cu deposits by means of MHD convection within small dimension cells

•Homogenization of electrochemical deposits by means of MHD convection.•Analysis of layer thickness along vertical electrodes.•Relative orientation between Lorentz force and gravity has crucial impact.•Usage of inhomogeneous magnetic fields is favourable.

The influence of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) convection on the thickness of an electrochemically deposited copper layer along a vertical plane cathode is examined. A magnetic gradient field, that induces a Lorentz force, establishes a vortical motion of the electrolyte which can be oriented either antiparallel or parallel to the natural convection. For the latter case, we show both experimentally and numerically that a sufficiently strong Lorentz force levels the inhomogeneities of the deposit thickness characteristic for deposition under pure natural convection.