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Smooth Ag Film Deposited Using e-beam Evaporated Ge as an Intermediate Layer for Applications in Nanoscale Devices and Optical Superlens

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

Logeeswaran Vj ,
Nobuhiko P. Kobayashi ,
Wei Wu ,
M.Saif Islam ,
Nicholas Xuanlai Fang ,
Shih Yuan Wang  and
R. Stanley Williams
Logeeswaran Vj
Affiliation:
[email protected], University of California-Davis, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Kemper Hall,, One Shields Ave, DAVIS, CA, 95616, United States
Nobuhiko P. Kobayashi
Affiliation:
[email protected], Hewlett Packard Laboratories, Quantum Science Research Advanced Studies, 1501 Page Mill Road,, Palo Alto, CA, 94304, United States
Wei Wu
Affiliation:
[email protected], Hewlett Packard Laboratories, Quantum Science Research Advanced Studies, 1501 Page Mill Road,, Palo Alto, CA, 94304, United States
M.Saif Islam
Affiliation:
[email protected], University of California-Davis, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Kemper Hall,, One Shields Ave, DAVIS, CA, 95616, United States
Nicholas Xuanlai Fang
Affiliation:
[email protected], University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign, Mechanical Science & Engineering, 1206 W. Green Street, Urbana, IL, 61801, United States
Shih Yuan Wang
Affiliation:
[email protected], Hewlett Packard Laboratories, Quantum Science Research Advanced Studies, 1501 Page Mill Road,, Palo Alto, CA, 94304, United States
R. Stanley Williams
Affiliation:
[email protected], Hewlett Packard Laboratories, Quantum Science Research Advanced Studies, 1501 Page Mill Road,, Palo Alto, CA, 94304, United States
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Abstract

In this paper, we highlight a new method to obtain smoother silver (Ag) film characterized by much smaller average RMS surface roughness of ∼0.7nm, peak-to-valley separation of ∼4nm and grain-size distribution ~15nm as compared to conventionally obtainable Ag film characterized by RMS surface roughness of ∼10nm, peak-to-valley separation of ∼20nm and grain-size distribution of ∼100nm. Thin Ag films of ∼15nm (optically thin) were deposited on double-polished borosilicate glass and silicon (100) substrates with 2nm Germanium (Ge) intermediate layers. An optically thick Ag film of 60nm was also prepared with 2nm Ge. The Germanium thicknesses were also varied and similar surface morphology improvements are observable on all the samples. The AFM image analysis shows that having the evaporated Ge intermediate layer drastically changes the Ag surface morphology, namely, the surface roughness, peak-to-valley and grain size distribution. Our smooth Ag results are very promising for applications in molecular electronics interconnect, optical metamaterials, plasmonic superlens and nanophotonics.

Keywords

AgGethin film
Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 990: Symposium B – Materials, Processes, Integration and Reliability in Advanced Interconnects for Micro- and Nanoelectronics , 2007 , 0990-B08-18
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2007

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References

REFERENCES

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