Abstract: Process technology of multiple cylindrical micro-pins by wire-electrical discharge machining (wire-EDM) and electrochemical etching was presented. A row of rectangular micro-columns were machined by wire-EDM and then machined into cylindrical shape by electrochemical etching. However, the shape of the multiple electrodes and the consistent sizes of the electrodes row are not easy to be controlled. In the electrochemical process, the shape of the cathode electrode determines the current density distribution on the anode and so the forming of multiple electrodes. This paper proposes a finite element method (FEM) to accurately optimize the electrode profile. The microelectrodes row with uniformity diameters with size from hundreds micrometers to several decades could be fabricated, and mathematical model controlling the shape and diameter of multiple microelectrodes was provided. Furthermore, a good agreement between experimental and theoretical results was confirmed.

Key words: Electrode array, Electrochemical etching, Finite element method (FEM), Microelectrodes