Potential-induced copper periodic micro-/nanostructures by electrodeposition on silicon substrate

We demonstrate the fabrication of large scale nano- and micropatterned copper periodic structures on a silicon substrate without imposed templates. In the electrodeposition process, we employ a periodic variation voltage in an ultrathin layer of concentrated CuSO4 electrolyte. The pattern can be controlled by varying the frequency of the applied potential. We suggest that the observed periodic micro-/nanostructures are caused by the lag of the migrating ion concentration profile versus the applied voltage profile near the tip of the growth.