Light-directed electrochemical patterning of copper structures

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11214885-B2
Application number	US-202016987978-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 7, 2020
Priority date	Aug 29, 2016
Publication date	Jan 4, 2022
Grant date	Jan 4, 2022

Abstract

A method creating a patterned film with cuprous oxide and light comprising the steps of electrodepositing copper from a solution onto a substrate; illuminating selected areas of said deposited copper with light having photon energies above the band gap energy of 2.0 eV to create selected illuminated sections and non-illuminated sections; and stripping non-illuminated sections leaving said illuminated sections on the substrate. An additional step may include galvanically replacing the copper with one or more noble metals.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of creating a pattern on a substrate using electrodeposition and light comprising the steps of:
on selected areas of said substrate, depositing material by electrodeposition and by illumination to create a deposition rate of material that is greater than in the non-illuminated areas; and
reversing the polarity while maintaining the illumination of said selected areas to cause said non-illuminated areas to have a higher rate of dissolution than said selected areas.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said deposited material is copper.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein said illumination is changed by time to create three-dimensional patterns.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein said illumination is changed by intensity to create three-dimensional patterns.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein said illumination is changed by color of the illumination to create three-dimensional patterns.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein said illumination is changed by a combination of color of the illumination, time or intensity to create three-dimensional patterns.

Assignees

• Univ Arkansas

Inventors

• Coridan Robert H
• Lowe James M

Classifications

• H10P95/00

  Generic processes or apparatus for manufacture or treatments not covered by the other groups of this subclass · CPC title

• H10P14/47

  Electrolytic deposition, i.e. electroplating; Electroless plating · CPC title

• H10F77/211

  for photovoltaic cells · CPC title

• H10F77/20

  Electrodes · CPC title

• C25D7/126

  for solar cells · CPC title