Publication detail

Formation of copper islands on a native SiO2 surface at elevated temperatures

ČECHAL, J. POLČÁK, J. KOLÍBAL, M. BÁBOR, P. ŠIKOLA, T.

Original Title

Formation of copper islands on a native SiO2 surface at elevated temperatures

Type

journal article - other

Language

English

Original Abstract

A combination of in situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis and ex situ scanning electron- and atomic force microscopy has been used to study the formation of copper islands upon Cu deposition at elevated temperatures as a basis for the guided growth of copper islands. Two different temperature regions have been found: (I) up to 250 C only close packed islands are formed due to low diffusion length of copper atoms on the surface. The SiO2 film acts as a barrier protecting the silicon substrate from diffusion of Cu atoms from oxide surface. (II) The deposition at temperatures above 300 C leads to the formation of separate islands which are (primarily at higher temperatures) crystalline. At these temperatures, copper atoms diffuse through the SiO2 layer. However, they are not entirely dissolved in the bulk but a fraction of them forms a Cu rich layer in the vicinity of SiO2/Si interface. The high copper concentration in this layer lowers the concentration gradient between the surface and the substrate and, consequently, inhibits the diffusion of Cu atoms into the substrate. Hence, the Cu islands remain on the surface even at temperatures as high as 450 C.

Keywords

Copper (Cu); Silicon (Si); Silicon dioxide (SiO2); Photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS); Scanning electron microscopy (SEM); Diffusion; Surface structures

Authors

ČECHAL, J.; POLČÁK, J.; KOLÍBAL, M.; BÁBOR, P.; ŠIKOLA, T.

RIV year

2010

Released

15. 3. 2010

ISBN

0169-4332

Periodical

Applied Surface Science

Year of study

256

Number

11

State

Kingdom of the Netherlands

Pages from

3636

Pages to

3641

Pages count

6

BibTex

@article{BUT46911,
  author="Jan {Čechal} and Josef {Polčák} and Miroslav {Kolíbal} and Petr {Bábor} and Tomáš {Šikola}",
  title="Formation of copper islands on a native SiO2 surface at elevated temperatures",
  journal="Applied Surface Science",
  year="2010",
  volume="256",
  number="11",
  pages="3636--3641",
  issn="0169-4332"
}