Two-dimensional computational model for electrochemical micromachining with ultrashort voltage pulses

We have developed a computational model to simulate electrochemical micromachining of conducting substrates with ultrashort voltage pulses. This theoretical approach integrates (i) a circuit model to describe charging and discharging of electrochemical double layers and electric field variation in electrolytes and (ii) the level set method to simulate feature profile evolution during electrochemical etching. Our simulation results of transient current responses and etch profile evolution are qualitatively in agreement with experimental observations. From our simulations, we find that the resolution of etched features is a strong function of the substrate double layer capacity which may be controlled by electrolyte concentration and pulse duration. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.