US3669868A - Layer thickness indicating device for electrolytically deposited materials - Google Patents

Layer thickness indicating device for electrolytically deposited materials Download PDF

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Publication number
US3669868A
US3669868A US59472A US3669868DA US3669868A US 3669868 A US3669868 A US 3669868A US 59472 A US59472 A US 59472A US 3669868D A US3669868D A US 3669868DA US 3669868 A US3669868 A US 3669868A
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United States
Prior art keywords
potentiometer
deposited
electrolytic bath
sliding contact
thickness
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Expired - Lifetime
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US59472A
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English (en)
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Hans-Wilhelm Lieber
Rolf Kramer
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Fernsteuergeraete Kurt Oelsch GmbH
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Fernsteuergeraete Kurt Oelsch GmbH
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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01B—MEASURING LENGTH, THICKNESS OR SIMILAR LINEAR DIMENSIONS; MEASURING ANGLES; MEASURING AREAS; MEASURING IRREGULARITIES OF SURFACES OR CONTOURS
    • G01B7/00—Measuring arrangements characterised by the use of electric or magnetic techniques
    • G01B7/02—Measuring arrangements characterised by the use of electric or magnetic techniques for measuring length, width or thickness
    • G01B7/06—Measuring arrangements characterised by the use of electric or magnetic techniques for measuring length, width or thickness for measuring thickness

Definitions

  • the thus proportioned voltage signal is then in- [58] Field ofSearch ..204/228, 195 R, 324/30 tegrated with respect to time and an indication of mg tegrated value provided as a continuous measure of the [56] References Cited thickness of the layer of material being deposited in the elec- UNITED STATES PATENTS troly bath,
  • the present invention relates to a device for indicating the thickness of the layer of material deposited on a substrate material in an electrolytic bath. More particularly, this invention relates to a device which continuously and automatically indicates the thickness of the layer of the material being deposited in the electrolytic bath.
  • the above object is achieved according to the present invention by means of a device including a constant voltage source which is switched on at the instant the electrolytic deposition is initiated, a voltage proportioning circuit connected to the output of the constant voltage source, an integrating device for integrating the output voltage from the voltage proportioning circuit over time, and an indicator for providing a continuous indication of the integral.
  • the voltage proportioning circuit includes a first and a second potentiometer and a voltage divider connected in series in an arbitrary sequence.
  • the sliding contact of one of the potentiometers is set to a value corresponding to the current density of the electrolytic bath
  • the sliding contact of the other potentiometer is set to a value corresponding to the current efficiency of the electrolytic bath
  • the divider ratio of the voltage divider corresponds to the deposition equivalent and specific weight of the material to be deposited.
  • FIG. 1 is a schematic circuit diagram of a thickness indicating device according to the invention.
  • FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a modified form of the indicating device of the embodiment of FIG. 1.
  • a constant voltage source 1 which may, for example, be a regulated d.c. power supply. As indicated, operating power for the constant voltage source 1 is supplied by conventional source of a.c.
  • a voltage proportioning circuit consisting of the series connection of a potentiometer 2, a voltage divider consisting of resistors 3 and 4, and a further potentiometer 6. It is to be understood, that the sequence of the connection of the potentiometers 2 and 6 and the voltage divider 5 is completely arbitrary and accordingly may be other than that specifically shown in the figure.
  • an integrating device Connected to the output of the potentiometer 6 is an integrating device which, as illustrated, and in a manner well known in the art may comprise a measuring motor 7. Coupled to the output of the motor 7, for example, by means of a step down gear mechanism (not shown), is an indicator 8 having a rotatable indicating pointer 9. It will of course be understood that other types of integrating and indicating devices or combinations thereof may be utilized. For example, in place of the purely mechanical indicator 8, as shown in FIG. 2, the output of the integrating motor 7 may be coupled to a pulse generator 12 whose output pulses are fed to a digital counter 13 which then serves as the indicator. Additionally, in place of the motor 7 a purely electronic device which integrates the voltage at the output of the potentiometer 6 over time may be utilized.
  • the sliding contact 14 of the potentiometer 2 is set so that the output voltage therefrom has a value which corresponds to the current density required for the particular electrolyte and the substrate material being processed in the bath; the resistors 3 and 4 are proportioned relative to one another so that the divider ratio of the voltage divider 5 takes into consideration the specific weight and the deposition equivalent of the particular material to be deposited in the electrolytic bath; and the sliding contact 15 of the potentiometer 6 is set to a value which corresponds to the current efficiency of the particular electrolyte being utilized.
  • the resistors 3 and 4 Since the relationship between the resistors 3 and 4 is specific to the particular material being deposited, and hence these resistors must be changed for each different type of material being deposited, they are preferably connected into the circuit in a manner whereby they can be easily removed, for example, by means of plug-in connections.
  • the measuring motor 7 By means of the various settings of the various elements 2, 5 and 6, the measuring motor 7 is thus supplied with a voltage which is adopted to the current density, the deposition equivalent and specific weight of the material being deposited and the current efficiency for the particular electrolytic bath being utilized.
  • the integration of the output signal from the potentiometer 6 must be initiated at the time that the electrolysis process is initiated. This may be done in a relatively simple manner, for example, by connecting the switch 1 1 to a switch 15 in the current input line 17 for the electrolytic bath so that power is supplied to the electrolytic bath and to the constant voltage source 1 at the same instant of time. Closure of the switch 11 thus causes a voltage signal to be applied to the motor 7 which actuates the indicator 8 whose scale extends, for example, from 0 to 50 m, causing the pointer 9, which is set at 0 at the initiation of the electrolysis process, to rotate and thus continuously indicate the thickness of the deposit layer of material.
  • the indicator 8 is also provided with a manually adjustable marker, for example, an additional pointer 10, which can be set to the desired layer thickness of the deposited material prior to the initiation of the electrolysis process.
  • a manually adjustable marker for example, an additional pointer 10
  • the operator of the electrolytic process can determine at any time whether the desired layer thickness has been attained or even exceeded.
  • the indicator in order to prevent the thickness of the layer of deposited material from exceeding the desired layer thickness, may be provided with a signal generator which emits a signal whenever the nominal or desired value of the thickness of the layer of deposited material preset into the indicator has been reached, thus telling the operator of the process to open the switches 11 and 16 and thus terminate the electrolytic process.
  • a signal generator may comprise a battery 18 and a bell 19 connected in series with electrical contacts formed on the pointers 9 and 10, whereby closure of the contacts on the pointers 9 and will complete the circuit and cause the bell to emit an audible signal.
  • the indicator may be provided with a signal generator whose output signal, in a manner well known in the art, automatically causes the electrolytic process to be terminated and/or the material being processed to be removed from the electrolytic bath.
  • the pointer 9 of the indicator 8 will remain in the position attained at the time of disconnection, so that the layer thickness of the material deposited on the substrate material being processed can be easily determined even after the substrate material has been removed from the bath.
  • the pointer 9 Upon the subsequent initiation of a further electrolytic deposition process, the pointer 9 must be returned to the zero position, either automatically or manually, in order to begin the indication of the thickness of the new layer of material being deposited
  • automatic setting of the potentiometer 2 which proportions the output voltage from a source 1 in accordance with the current density of the electrolytic bath, can be achieved by positioning the sliding contact 14 by a motor 21 driven by an output signal from the current density regulator 20 in a conventional manner. With this arrangement, any changes in the current density of the electrolytic bath are automatically transferred to the layer thickness measuring device according to the invention.
  • I is the respective ion of a particular material to be converted
  • P is the preset current density
  • R is the resistance of resistor 3
  • R is the resistance of resistor 4
  • P is the current efficiency for the particular electrolytic bath
  • L is the thickness of the layer of the material being deposited.
  • This table represents only a few values and is, of course, not exhaustive. it shows the substantial differences of copper in a cyanidic bath (Cu'*) and in an acid bath (Cu) and of nickel in an acid bath (NW). Whereas the current efficiency in the acid copper bath is almost 100 percent, it lies between 50 and 95 percent in the cyanidic copper bath and between 90 and 98 percent in the acid nickel bath depending on the operating conditions.
  • a device for continuously indicating the thickness of a layer of material deposited in an electrolytic bath comprising:
  • a voltage proportioning circuit including first and second potentiometers and a voltage divider connected in series in an arbitrary sequence, said voltage proportioning circuit being connected to the output of said constant voltage source, and having the sliding contact of said first potentiometer set proportional to the current density of the electrolytic bath, the sliding contact of said second potentiometer set proportional to the current efficiency of the electrolytic bath, and the voltage divider ratio being related to the deposition equivalent and the specific weight of the particular material to be deposited in the electrolytic bath;
  • the device as defined in claim 1 including means for causing indication by said indicating means to be initiated at the instant the deposition of the material in the electrolytic bath is initiated.
  • said indicating means has a pointer for continuously indicating the instantaneous thickness of the layer of material deposited and a movable marker which is set at the desired thickness of the layer of deposited material.
  • said indicating means includes a pulse generator coupled to the output of said integrating means for producing pulses proportional to the output signal from said integrating means, and a digital counter connected to the output of said generator for providing an indication of the number of pulses produced by said pulse generator.
  • said indicating means includes means for providing a signal whenever a desired layer thickness of deposited material has been reached.
  • said first potentiometer is a motor driven potentiometer whose sliding contact is automatically positioned in accordance with an output signal from a means for regulating the current density of the electrolytic bath.
  • said first potentiometer has a first end and a second end; said second potentiometer has a first end and a second end; said voltage divider ha a first end, a second end and an intermediate point between its ends; said first ends are connected together and to a point of reference voltage; said second end of said potentiometer is connected to said constant voltage source; said contact of said first potentiometer; said second end of said second potentiometer is connected to said intermediate point and said sliding contact of said second potentiometer is connected to one terminal of said integrating means, the other terminal of said integrating means being connected to said point 5 of reference voltage.

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  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Electrical Discharge Machining, Electrochemical Machining, And Combined Machining (AREA)
  • Investigating Or Analyzing Materials By The Use Of Electric Means (AREA)
  • Measurement Of Length, Angles, Or The Like Using Electric Or Magnetic Means (AREA)
  • Electrolytic Production Of Non-Metals, Compounds, Apparatuses Therefor (AREA)
US59472A 1969-08-01 1970-07-30 Layer thickness indicating device for electrolytically deposited materials Expired - Lifetime US3669868A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
DE19691939125 DE1939125B2 (de) 1969-08-01 1969-08-01 Vorrichtung zur anzeige der schichtdicke eines in einem elektrolytischen bad abgeschiedenen stoffes

Publications (1)

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US3669868A true US3669868A (en) 1972-06-13

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US59472A Expired - Lifetime US3669868A (en) 1969-08-01 1970-07-30 Layer thickness indicating device for electrolytically deposited materials

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US (1) US3669868A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
CH (1) CH510744A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
DE (1) DE1939125B2 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
FR (1) FR2057701A5 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
GB (1) GB1295121A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)

Cited By (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4287043A (en) * 1979-09-07 1981-09-01 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Apparatus for electrodepositing a metallic layer of predetermined thickness
US4479980A (en) * 1983-12-16 1984-10-30 International Business Machines Corporation Plating rate monitor
US4495558A (en) * 1982-06-25 1985-01-22 General Electric Company Method and apparatus for determining oxide film thickness
US4755744A (en) * 1986-01-21 1988-07-05 Rohrback Corporation Plated sensor for monitoring corrosion or electroplating
FR2609333A1 (fr) * 1987-01-06 1988-07-08 Pechiney Aluminium Dispositif de controle au defile de la continuite d'un revetement metallique sur un fil metallique de nature differente
US4882537A (en) * 1988-05-09 1989-11-21 Rohrback Cosasco Systems, Inc. Method and apparatus for reducing interference in an electrical resistance probe during electrolytic plating
US5059908A (en) * 1990-05-31 1991-10-22 Capital Controls Company, Inc. Amperimetric measurement with cell electrode deplating
US20050211560A1 (en) * 1999-02-10 2005-09-29 Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba Plating method

Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US1527095A (en) * 1923-10-12 1925-02-17 Lawrence C Turnock Method and apparatus for coating
US1712284A (en) * 1925-12-17 1929-05-07 Lawrence C Turnock Method and apparatus for electrodeposition
US2657177A (en) * 1950-07-10 1953-10-27 United States Steel Corp Plating thickness regulator
US3081194A (en) * 1959-08-07 1963-03-12 Gen Motors Corp Plating thickness indicating apparatus and method
US3365379A (en) * 1965-04-13 1968-01-23 Lockheed Aircraft Corp Method and apparatus for controlling the anodization of film resistors

Patent Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US1527095A (en) * 1923-10-12 1925-02-17 Lawrence C Turnock Method and apparatus for coating
US1712284A (en) * 1925-12-17 1929-05-07 Lawrence C Turnock Method and apparatus for electrodeposition
US2657177A (en) * 1950-07-10 1953-10-27 United States Steel Corp Plating thickness regulator
US3081194A (en) * 1959-08-07 1963-03-12 Gen Motors Corp Plating thickness indicating apparatus and method
US3365379A (en) * 1965-04-13 1968-01-23 Lockheed Aircraft Corp Method and apparatus for controlling the anodization of film resistors

Cited By (10)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4287043A (en) * 1979-09-07 1981-09-01 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Apparatus for electrodepositing a metallic layer of predetermined thickness
US4495558A (en) * 1982-06-25 1985-01-22 General Electric Company Method and apparatus for determining oxide film thickness
US4479980A (en) * 1983-12-16 1984-10-30 International Business Machines Corporation Plating rate monitor
US4755744A (en) * 1986-01-21 1988-07-05 Rohrback Corporation Plated sensor for monitoring corrosion or electroplating
FR2609333A1 (fr) * 1987-01-06 1988-07-08 Pechiney Aluminium Dispositif de controle au defile de la continuite d'un revetement metallique sur un fil metallique de nature differente
EP0277886A1 (fr) * 1987-01-06 1988-08-10 Aluminium Pechiney Dispositif de contrôle au défilé de la continuité d'un revêtement métallique sur un fil métallique de nature différente
US4882537A (en) * 1988-05-09 1989-11-21 Rohrback Cosasco Systems, Inc. Method and apparatus for reducing interference in an electrical resistance probe during electrolytic plating
US5059908A (en) * 1990-05-31 1991-10-22 Capital Controls Company, Inc. Amperimetric measurement with cell electrode deplating
US20050211560A1 (en) * 1999-02-10 2005-09-29 Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba Plating method
US7575664B2 (en) * 1999-02-10 2009-08-18 Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba Plating method

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
DE1939125B2 (de) 1972-02-24
GB1295121A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1972-11-01
DE1939125A1 (de) 1970-11-12
CH510744A (de) 1971-07-31
FR2057701A5 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1971-05-21

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