Patent ID: 7427346
Filing Date: 2008-09-23
Classification: G01N

Abstract:
1. A circuitry for monitoring an electrochemical process in an electrochemical cell including working, reference and counter electrodes, arranged to carry out galvanostatic and potentiostatic modes of operation of said electrochemical cell, involving electrochemical plating in a galvanostatic mode of operation, and stripping, cyclic voltammetry, equilibration and nucleation in a potentiostatic mode of operation, said circuitry comprising a microcontroller programmably arranged in a feedback loop with said electrochemical cell, and circuit elements between said microcontroller and electrochemical cell for switching between galvanostatic and potentiostatic modes of operation of said electrochemical cell, wherein said circuitry comprises a CMOS analog switch including a first set of switch positions connectable to one another for said galvanostatic mode of operation, and a second set of switch positions connectable to one another for said potentiostatic mode of operation, a current control digital-to-analog converter arranged for linking to said working electrode and to said CMOS analog switch, and adapted to bring the circuitry to a predetermined current condition for said galvanostatic mode of operation, and a potential control digital-to-analog converter arranged for linking to said CMOS analog switch and to said reference electrode, and adapted to bring the circuitry to a predetermined potential condition for said potentiostatic mode of operation, and wherein said current control digital-to-analog converter and said potential control digital-to-analog converter are respectively adapted to provide rise time, to said predetermined current condition in said galvanostatic mode of operation, and to said predetermined potential condition in said potentiostatic mode of operation, of less than one millisecond, and with said CMOS analog switch arranged for linking with said counter electrode.