Korean Journal of Materials Research ISSN:1225-0562(Print) 2287-7258(Online) 한국재료학회지

We performed this study to understand the effect of a single-crystalline anode on the mechanical properties of asdeposited films during electrochemical deposition. We used a (111) single- crystalline Cu plate as an anode, and Si substrates with Cr/Au conductive seed layers were prepared for the cathode. Electrodeposition was performed with a standard 3-electrode system in copper sulfate electrolyte. Interestingly, the grain boundaries of the as-deposited Cu thin films using single-crystalline Cu anode were not distinct; this is in contrast to the easily recognizable grain boundaries of the Cu thin films that were formed using a poly-crystalline Cu anode. Tensile testing was performed to obtain the mechanical properties of the Cu thin films. Ultimate tensile strength and elongation to failure of the Cu thin films fabricated using the (111) single-crystalline Cu anode were found to have increased by approximately 52 % and 37%, respectively, compared with those values of the Cu thin films fabricated using apoly-crystalline Cu anode. We applied ultrasonic irradiation during electrodeposition to disturb the uniform stream; we then observed no single-crystalline anode effect. Consequently, it is presumed that the single-crystalline Cu anode can induce a directional/uniform stream of ions in the electrolyte that can create films with smeared grain boundaries, which boundaries strongly affect the mechanical properties of the electrodeposited Cu films.