Eur. Phys. J. D 34, 195-198 (2005)
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjd/e2005-00143-4

Monte Carlo simulation of the spontaneous oscillation in electrochemical deposition

¹ Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, P.R. China
² International Center for Materials Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, P.R. China
³ Laboratory of Solidification Processing, Northwestern Polytechnic University, Xian, P.R. China

Corresponding author: ^a liujm@nju.edu.cn

Received: 6 September 2004
Published online: 13 July 2005

Abstract

We report a new Monte Carlo model to simulate the spontaneous oscillating growth in Cu(II)-acid electrochemical deposition system, and present the one-to-one correspondence between the oscillation of pH and the layered structure. Two mechanisms essential for the oscillation behavior, i.e. the adsorption and buffering, are incorporated into the deposition sequences. The simulation results are qualitatively in agreement with the experimental observations. Some system parameters essential for the oscillation generation are discussed. And through adjusting the adsorption ratio, the spatially columnar deposited structure is generated and the columnar alternative growth of copper and cuprous oxide phases is achieved.