K2400 Electroplating program Users Manuals - updated Aug

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1 K2400 Electroplating program Users Manuals - updated Aug Introduction: Thank you for purchasing BTInnoations K2400 Electroplating program. This program is designed to be used with a Keithley 2400 (Figure 1). Typically, the 2400 is connected to a GPIB card installed in a personal computer or laptop. GPIB/USB adapters can be used as well, however the program only supports the Keithley GPIB to USB adapter: KUSB-488A. The software is not compatible with adapter version B. Figure 1 - Keithley 2400 The user must have the proper GPIB drivers installed for the K2400 electroplating program to function properly. Please refer to your GPIB driver vendor for support. The software is designed to run on a 32 bit platform (e.g. Windows XP). It does not run on 64 bit operating systems like Windows 7. Suggested system requirements are: Windows XP Service pack 2 1 GHz processor (AMD or Intel) 1 GB of Ram >50 MB Disc space Mouse Keyboard GPIB card (or GPIB to USB adapter KUSB-488A) GPIB cord (or USB cord if using a GPIB/USB adapter) The program may work with alternative setups, but they are not necessarily supported. Program Installation Assuming the system requirements are met proceed to extract all files from the zip archived file: K2400Electroplate02.zip, to a temporary folder. Ideally C:\tmp After file extraction run setup.exe. The following window will load:

2 Figure 2 - K2400 Installation directory It is recommended to use the default installation directory. Click OK. The program will then be installed automatically. A program group will be created: Figure 3 - K2400 Electroplate program group You may be prompted to restart in order to load the required drivers. When prompted, restart the computer. After a successful restart the program will be ready to use.

3 Program Operation Figure 4 - Define save to file location The first step is to choose the save to file location. If the default save to location does not exist on your computer you will receive an error message when you try to send commands to the Keithley using the program. Click the File button and a window will pop up directing you to choose a save directory and file name. The data is saved as a comma separated variable file (e.g..csv) so it is easily read by spreadsheet manipulation programs like excel, or graphing programs like Origin. We recommend using a.csv file extension. After you have chosen a location and file name click Save. If the file already exists you will be prompted to replace it.

4 Figure 5 User defined parameters The most important user defined parameters are found in this section. This is where the desired current and run time will be defined. The program is designed to be used as an electroplating program, hence the extra parameters such as Deposition Species. However, the program can be used to apply any current over any period of time using these three inputs: Deposition current (in ma), Deposition area (in cm 2 ) and thickness (in microns). Set the deposition current to the desired value (in ma). Then click Calculate, alter the Deposition Area or Thickness, click calculate and note the time. Continue to adjust the Deposition Area or Thickness and clicking calculate until the desired time is achieved.

5 Figure 6 K2400 settings The user may also control the Voltage compliance and Pulse count on the K2400. Typically, these values need not be altered. However, if you have a specific application where these parameters are important, they can be controlled here. Once the desired value(s) is/are entered click the Set Voltage Compliance or Set Pulse Counts accordingly. It is recommended to leave these parameters at their default values.

6 Figure 7 Save data The user can also control how much data the program records. Data is written when either or both of the Record voltage after (s) and Record deltav of (V) boolean operators are true. For example, Record voltage after (s) defines the frequency data is recorded at. The default value is 0.1 seconds, e.g. ten data points every second. If the user desires data to be saved as fast as possible, set this value to 0. The user can also choose how often data is saved based on the change in voltage. The default value is 0.01 V. So if the last recorded voltage is 1.00V, data will not be saved until the voltage rises to 1.01V, falls to 0.99V, OR, the time between data points extends beyond the Record voltage after (s) value. These parameters are useful for experiments where the voltage changes quickly during the first few seconds of the experiment, but plateaus and eventually there is little change in voltage (e.g. a constant current electroplating experiment). These parameters allow a reasonable amount of useful data to be recorded, without needlessly taking up disk space. All data will be saved to the user defined file, and displayed on the Voltage vs. time graph.

7 Initialize is useful to troubleshoot the 2400 without actually running an experiment. The Initialize button will send the K2400 a series of commands that will prepare it to accept future commands from the software. If the user desires a data point to be taken immediately, they can click the Force Read button. This is useful to update the graph instantly. Similarly, if the previously graphed data is no longer interesting, the user can click clear graph to clear the previous data from the graph (not the file) and restart data plotting. If a snapshot of the graph is desired, click the Inspect button. This will pop up a new window freezing the graph at its state when the Inspect button was pressed. The program will continue to collect data and update the graph on the main window.

8 Figure 8 Voltage read from the K2400 and calculated values The user has no control over these values. When the program is running the last measured voltage value will be displayed in the Voltage box. The elapsed time since the beginning of the experiment is displayed in both Time Elapsed (s) or and Time Elapsed (hrs). Old Time (s) and Old voltage (V) indicate the last recorded values (e.g. last values written to the save file). Deposited thickness is useful for monitoring the thickness in electroplating experiments.

9 Figure 9 Deposition species These values are specific to electroplating experiments. There are two predefined species (Tin and other) along with tin s associated characteristics (e.g. Molar mass, Ionization # and Density). These parameters can also be input manually by choosing Other in the drop down menu and input the desired values. These values are used to calculate the thickness based on the deposition area and current passed (e.g. coulombs). Once the user defined parameters are properly setup click the Cell button to the On position, and happy electroplating. If there are any questions or difficulties please contact BTInnovations ( for customer support.