Semiconductor and noble metal surface process characterization using electrochemical and optical methods

Surface electrochemical processes are of importance in semiconductor manufacturing and electrochemical deposition. In this work, surface processes of noble metals are investigated by electrochemical and optical methods and the interpretations of the results are discussed.; The specific adsorption of thiosulfate ions on polycrystalline silver electrode was studied by differential capacitance measurements using impedance analysis and the adsorption isotherm was found to be best explained by image dipole formation. The apparant dipole strength was determined to be 0.72 D.; The determination of kinetics of galvanic deposition of gold on to silicon (111) was studied mainly by surface second harmonic generation (SHG). The results of SHG experiments along with atomic force microscopy (AFM) images indicate formation of clusters on the surface of silicon. The surface plasmon resonance of gold clusters causes strong enhancement of SHG and later, the growth of the clusters cause the drop in signal. By adding KF and HCl, the equilibria of HF dissociation were suitably altered and it was found that HF and not HF2- is the kinetically active species. Rutherford backscattering (RBS) measurements indicate that Au deposition is rate-limited by diffusion, while the SHG measurements indicate that Au cluster growth is rate-limited by either a surface reaction involving a fluoride-containing species or electron transfer. The reaction order for Au cluster growth with respect to HF is approximately ½, and the reaction order for Au cluster growth with respect to Au(CN)2- is near zero in the concentration range 10-4--10-5 M.; The development and characteristics of a stable, high plating rate bath for electroless deposition of silver from silver cyanide and alkaline formaldehyde is described in the third chapter. Cyclic voltammograms indicate that the silver is passivated by cyanide ions which decrease the rate of silver reduction and hence the plating rate. Stirring the solution decreases the passivation and increases the plating rate, while increasing the alkalinity of the solution facilitates the oxidation of formaldehyde and increases the plating rate. SHG and SEM measurements indicate that the deposit is in the form of clusters and EDX analysis shows that the deposit consists only of silver.