Effect of target bias voltage on gold films using plasma based ion implantation

The nucleation and the growing behavior of gold films on carbon under a high voltage pulsed bias using a plasma based ion implantation system was investigated by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS). Without an ion implantation process, the films exhibit a typical polycrystalline Vollmer-Weber mode, i.e., island, network and channel stages, until the films eventually become continuous. With an ion implantation process, film growth proceeds by a different growth mode consisting of a ultra-thin film with increased nucleation density. A huge morphology change of the deposited films due to the subsequent deposition, resputtering and mixing is observed with changing target bias voltage.