Patent ID: 11965265
Assignee: THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AS REPRESENTED BY THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY
Field: Surface technology, coating (Chemistry)
Classification: CPC C | IPC C

Claim 18:
19. A method for electro-processing a workpiece, the method comprising:
providing a workpiece;
providing an electrode; and
providing a bath containing a first solution being an electrically neutral solution devoid of ions between said workpiece and said electrode, said first solution being in contact with said workpiece and said electrode, wherein said first solution is devoid of ions corresponding to said workpiece as the ions are generated during the electro-processing;
in a first step, passing an electric current in a first direction between said workpiece and said electrode, wherein said workpiece is maintained anodic with respect to said electrode, and
in a second step, reversing said electric current to pass said electric current in a second direction between said workpiece and said electrode, wherein said workpiece is maintained cathodic with respect to said electrode,
wherein repeated cycles of said first step and said second step are performed in an in-situ process where polarities are switched in rapid succession,
wherein the method uses anodic voltages and cathodic voltages where the anodic voltages are positive voltages and the cathodic voltages are negative voltages,
wherein the first step is performed using said anodic voltages, and
wherein the electric current is reversed so that the second step is performed using said cathodic voltages.