Copper Deposition in a Trench
Application ID: 2112
This model demonstrates the use of moving meshes in the application of copper electrodeposition on circuit boards. In these environments, the presence of cavities or 'trenches' are apparent.
The model makes use of the Tertiary, Nernst-Planck interface for electrodeposition to keep track of the deformation of the mesh. Furthermore, electrochemical reaction kinetics through use of the Butler-Volmer equation for copper deposition are freely entered at the boundaries.
The model is inherently time-dependent and results clearly show that the mouth of the trench narrows, due to non-uniform deposition of the copper. In addition, the simulation shows a substantial variation in copper ion concentration along the length of the trench. Such effects can be detrimental to the quality of the deposition, create corrosion possibilities, and lead to material waste.
This model example illustrates applications of this type that would nominally be built using the following products:
however, additional products may be required to completely define and model it. Furthermore, this example may also be defined and modeled using components from the following product combinations:
- COMSOL Multiphysics® and
- either the Battery Design Module, Corrosion Module, or Electrodeposition Module
The combination of COMSOL® products required to model your application depends on several factors and may include boundary conditions, material properties, physics interfaces, and part libraries. Particular functionality may be common to several products. To determine the right combination of products for your modeling needs, review the Specification Chart and make use of a free evaluation license. The COMSOL Sales and Support teams are available for answering any questions you may have regarding this.