Theoretical studies of displacement deposition of nickel into porous silicon with ultrahigh aspect ratio

A model is developed to address the uniformity of displacement deposition of nickel inside porous silicon with an ultrahigh aspect ratio as high as 200. The nickel distribution is treated as a current distribution issue as in electrodeposition. It is shown that the deposition distribution along the pore depth exhibits a strong dependence on a polarization parameter ξ. High values of ξ correspond to mass transport limitations and lead to non-uniform distributions, whereas small ξ values, representing interfacial reaction control, produce uniform distributions. Non-uniform deposition primarily occurs at an initial stage in which the reaction is dominated by mass transfer. As the deposition process continues, the deposition rate drops to a low value, and the deposition uniformity shifts from Ni²⁺ mass transport limitations to its interfacial reaction control, leading to uniform Ni²⁺ concentration and deposition rate distributions. It is predicted that the non-uniformity at the initial stage could be remedied by increasing the bulk concentration of the nickel ions and decreasing the plating bath pH. In addition, the uniformity of the deposition distribution can be significantly improved by introducing inhibiting additive coumarin to the plating solution. © 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.