Development of electrodeposition system employing 8 rotating disc electrodes for highly reproducible synthesis of zinc oxide thin films

We have designed an electrodeposition system employing multiple rotating disc electrodes (RDE) in a single electrochemical bath, with an aim to develop a mean to obtain homogeneous zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films with a high reproducibility, as the reaction is known to be strongly limited by mass transport. Substrates such as F-doped SnO(FTO) coated glass having no electric conduction on the back side were furnished into a geometry of RDEs employing conductive and insulating tapes. The shape of the active electrode area was determined through tests. Also, the influence of the position of the RDE in the electrochemical bath was tested. Having confirmed that neighboring RDEs do not interfere each other, eight RDEs were placed like a roulette in a single electrolytic bath. The resulting eight ZnO samples electrodeposited by using the eight RDE system were almost identical with the standard deviation of less than 0.3% for their thickness. © The Electrochemical Society of Japan All rights reserved.