Localized electrochemical deposition process improvement by using different anodes and deposition directions

The localized electrochemical deposition method has demonstrated its capability in the fabrication of microstructures with a high aspect ratio and complicated geometry. In this study, the improvement of the porosity problem of the deposited structure was attempted by employing different designs of the anode and deposition directions. An anode with higher strength to withstand the cavitation of the generated gas bubbles at the end tip was fabricated. Moreover, the direction of deposition was changed from vertical to horizontal to facilitate the escape of the gas bubbles from the electrode gap. The effect of the improvement was examined both qualitatively and quantitatively. The fundamental resonance frequency of the fabricated cantilevered microcolumn was measured and the apparent density, thereby the porosity, of the deposited structure was quantified. Finally, possible application of the process was demonstrated by the example of a spiral 3D structure.