Copper deposition in the presence of surface-confined additives

Journal Article · Wed Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1997 · Journal of the Electrochemical Society

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1149/1.1837370· OSTI ID:452215

Eliadis, E D; Nuzzo, R G; Gewirth, A A; Alkire, R C ^[1]

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1. Univ. of Illinois, Urbana, IL (United States)

The galvanostatic deposition of Cu from sulfuric acid solutions onto evaporated (111) Au electrodes bearing alkanethiol monolayers (SAMs) was studied with a combination of cyclic voltammetry, in situ atomic force microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The morphology of the electrodeposit was found to depend on the chain length of the alkanethiol used to form the SAM and the applied current density. It was found that short chain length (n - 4) thiols and high current densities (j {ge} 1.67 mA/cm{sup 2}) promote the formation of smooth deposits. The authors attribute this effect to the overpotential-driven activation of numerous monolayer defects that play the role of nucleation centers. The passage of the current was found to cause a change in the monolayer in a completely reversible manner and that the deposition and subsequent stripping did not affect the S-Au bond of most thiolate moieties contained in the SAM. The implications of these results for additive-based electrodeposition are discussed.

• Sponsoring Organization: National Science Foundation, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: FG02-91ER45439
• OSTI ID: 452215
• Journal Information: Journal of the Electrochemical Society, Journal Name: Journal of the Electrochemical Society Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 144; ISSN 0013-4651; ISSN JESOAN
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
ADDITIVES
COPPER
ELECTRODEPOSITED COATINGS
ELECTRODEPOSITION
MOLECULAR WEIGHT
MORPHOLOGY
SULFURIC ACID
THIOLS