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: