Electrochemical deposition method, electrochemical deposition apparatus, and microstructure

Abstract

An electrochemical deposition method in which the structure of a substance to be deposited on the surface of a working electrode is determined, an electrochemical deposition apparatus, and a microstructure are provided. A positive electrode 1 and a negative electrode 2 functioning as a working electrode are arranged oppositely in a liquid tank 5 containing an electrolytic (acid) solution (hereinafter referred to as “solution”) 4 in which plural substance are dissolved in an ionic state, and then a predetermined voltage is applied between the positive electrode 1 and the negative electrode 2. A reference electrode 3 is also arranged in the liquid tank 5 and the potential between the negative electrode 2 and the reference electrode 3 is measured. Since the solution 4 can be considered as a conductor, the potential V1 of the negative electrode 2 relative to the solution 4 can be determined. Furthermore, a reaction inhibitor is admixed in the liquid tank 5, spontaneous electrochemical oscillation (current oscillation in this case) is generated in the electrochemical deposition reaction of the substances in the presence of the reaction inhibitor. The waveform of the electrochemical oscillation is controlled by regulating the potential V1 of the negative electrode, the concentrations of the substances in the solution, and the kind and concentration of the reaction inhibitor, thereby the structure of a substance to be deposited on the surface of the working electrode is determined.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to an electrochemical deposition method in which a voltage is applied or a current is fed between plural electrodes immersed in a solution in which an electrochemically depositable substance such as a metal is dissolved in an ionic state to deposit the substance on the surface of a working electrode, an electrochemical deposition apparatus, and a microstructure having lattices ranging in size from several tens to several hundreds of micrometers. BACKGROUND ART [0002] Through the progression of microfabrication technology, the propositions of nanometer-size micro devices (nanodevices), as well as an increase in the scale of integration, have been made. For example, researches on nanoperiodic structures of metals, semiconductors, conductive polymers, and so on are being conducted actively in various fields because various functions such as giant magnetoresistance, tunnel magnetoresistance, and photonics, emerge based on their charac...

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Benefits of technology

[0070] According to the present invention, an ordered microstructure is spontaneously formed perpendicularly from a substrate by a self-organized oscillation phenomenon. Further, individual portions of the structure to be formed are laminated in order through the reflection of the history of oscillation phenomenon. In this invention, since the electrochemical oscillation phenomenon itself is intended to be controlled, the ordered structure to be formed can be controlled. And further, it becomes possible to form a simple periodic structure, a more complicated three-dimensional ordered structure, and various microlattice structures on the entire surfaces of electrodes at one step and low cost. Still further, by controlling a current fed to the working electrode such that a current density at which the spontaneous oscillation occurs can be secured, it becomes possible to solve the problem that since the current density gradually lowers and then falls outside a range in which the spontaneous oscillation occurs, the spontaneous oscillation ceases, that is, the spontaneous oscillation can be continued, and therefore a microlattice metal aggregate having a size of several millimeters to several centimeters can be formed. Still further, it is also possible to form a three-dimensional ordered structure applicable to metals, semiconductors, conductive polymers, and so on by utilizing the obtained ordered structure itself as a template. Moreover, since the ordered structure is theoretically to an electrochemical deposition reaction of a desired substance by suitably selecting a reaction inhibitor, it is expected that the structure will be applied to the formation of various functional materials. And furthermore, the structure of an apparatus used for the electrochemical deposition is extremely simple, which brings great advantages such as the capability of manufacturing a specified microstructure at extremely low cost.

Problems solved by technology

However, in the conventional techniques described above, there is a problem that decrease in productivity and increase in cost are inevitable because those techniques each require a multi-step process.

And further, it is inevitable that apparatuses for use in the formation of nanoperiodic structures are large in size, which further increases their production cost.

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