Monitoring of atmospheric corrosion and dewing process by interlacing copper electrode sensor

Abstract

A novel dewing sensor consisting of two interlacing (comb-like) copper electrodes was fabricated by photolithography to monitor the formation and evaporation process of thin electrolyte layer (TEL), as well as atmospheric corrosion of copper during wetting-drying and high-low temperature cyclic tests. Thanks to the ultra-narrow space between the comb-like electrodes, the sensor can probe earlier dew condensation on Cu even at low relative humidity. Moreover, the thickness of TEL can be easily calculated based on high-frequency impedance during the drying process of TEL.