Influences of ultra-thin Ti seed layers on the dewetting phenomenon of Au films deposited on Si oxide substrates

State of the art of ultra-thin gold layers: formation fundamentals and applications

“…In recent years, both in situ and ex situ studies have been developed to focus on the growth kinetic and influencing factors of UTGLs formation on the different substrates, including solid substrates ( e.g. , silicon (Si) wafers and oxides thin films), 16,22,32–47 soft substrates ( e.g. , polymer thin films), 28,48–58 and nanostructured substrates ( e.g.…”

“…In order to successfully prepare UTGLs for various applications, it is necessary to understand fundamentally how the deposited Au grows on different substrates. In recent years, both in situ and ex situ studies have been developed to focus on the growth kinetic and inuencing factors of UTGLs formation on the different substrates, including solid substrates (e.g., silicon (Si) wafers and oxides thin lms), 16,22,[32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47] so substrates (e.g., polymer thin lms), 28,[48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58] and nanostructured substrates (e.g., phase-separated polymer lms, nanostructured oxides thin lms, and quantum dot arrays). [59][60][61][62][63][64] 2.1 On solid substrates Depositing Au on a at solid substrate, such as Si wafer, is regarded as the idealized case to study the UTGL growth without other inuencing factors.…”

“…Besides the mentioned fundamental studies about growth behaviors of Au clusters on solid substrates assisted with advanced characterization techniques, other fundamental investigations of UTGLs were also achieved, including revealing optical and structural properties of UTGLs, 35,36 studying the effects of modication strategies (functionalized molecular monolayer, metallic surfactants/seeds) for substrates on the formation of UTGLs, 22,[37][38][39]44 as well as the effects of environmental factors (temperature, plasma, ultraviolet (UV) treatment) on the formation of UTGLs. 42,43,45 For example, L. Leandro et al used amino-and mercaptosilanes to modify a Si wafer to increase its adhesion for Au, obtaining smooth UTGLs with the average thickness below 10 nm and the average roughness below 5%.…”

“…Preparing a thin adhesion or seed layer, commonly using titanium (Ti) and chromium (Cr), on the substrate is another effective strategy to facilitate the formation of UTGLs. 37,39 For example, M. Todeschini et al investigated the inuence of Ti and Cr adhesion layers on UTGLs with the thickness of 2-20 nm. 37 The adhesion layers and Au layers were evaporationdeposited with a tunable thickness on SiO 2 or silicon nitride (Si 3 N 4 ) substrates for different characterizations.…”

Fabrication of self-organized fcc-AuAg(001) alloy nanodots on MgO(001) substrates

“…[10][11][12] In previous studies, we reported that the insertion of the thin seed layer for the fabrication of noble metal nanodots by dewetting process provides the various advantages. [10][11][12][13][14][15] Among them, an enhancement epitaxial growth of nanodots can be expected sufficiently for the effects of the adding seed layer. [10][11][12][13][14] The Au-Ag alloy nanoparticles show interesting electronic and structural properties and can be used in optical and catalytic applications.…”