Porous anodic alumina (PAA) thin ¯lms, having interconnected pores, were fabricated from Cudoped
aluminum ¯lms deposited on p-type silicon wafers by anodization. The anodization was
done at four di®erent anodizing voltages (60 V, 70 V, 80V and 90 V) in phosphoric acid and two
voltages (60V and 70 V) in oxalic acid. The aluminum and PAA samples were characterized by
SEM and XRD while the pore arrangement, pore density, pore diameter, pore circularity and
pore regularity were also analyzed. XRD spectra con¯rmed the aluminum to be crystalline with
the dominant plane being (220), the Cu-rich phase have an average particle size of 15
5nm
uniformly distributed within the Al matrix of 0.4-
m grain size. The steady-state current density
through the anodization increased by 117% and 49% for oxalic and phosphoric acids, respectively,
for 10V increase (from 60 to 70 V) in anodization voltage. Similarly, the etching rate increased by
100% for oxalic acid and by 40% for phosphoric acid which are responsible for 47% and 29%
decreases in anodization duration, respectively. The highest value of circularity obtained for anodized
Al–0.5wt.% Cu formed in oxalic acid at 60V was 0.86, and it was 0.80 for the phosphoric acid
at 90 V. Anodization of Al–0.5wt.% Cu ¯lms allows the formation of circular pores directly on
p-type silicon wafers which is of importance for future nanofabrication of advanced electronics. The
results of anodized Al–0.5wt.% Cu thin ¯lm were compared with other anodized systems such as
anodized pure Al and Al doped with Si.