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The Influence of the Interaction between Silicon and Hydroxyl Radicals before the Copper Electrodeposition. Activity Changes of the Silicon Surface
In this study we examined the changes in the surface activity of n-Si after its exposition to a solution containing hydroxyl radicals. Changes in the surface activity caused by the interaction between silicon and OH radicals were characterized by analyzing the nucleation and growth mechanism (NGM) of copper on silicon electrodes. For this aim, we studied the copper deposition on: i) n-Si without exposure to hydroxyl radicals and ii) n-Si exposes at different periods of time to hydroxyl radical. It was observed a change in the copper NGM on n-Si, from 3D progressive nucleation diffusion-controlled growth (PN3DDIFF), for the system without exposure to the OH radical, toward 3D instantaneous nucleation diffusion-controlled growth (IN3DDIFF), when the semiconductor substrate was exposed to the OH radicals. In both cases analysis by the Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) technique was performed confirming these mechanisms.