SCANNING FORCE MICROSCOPY STUDIES OF ENHANCED METAL NUCLEATION - AU VAPOR-DEPOSITED ON SELF-ASSEMBLED MONOLAYERS OF SUBSTITUTED SILANES

Scanning force microscopy was used to observe the topography of vapor-deposited Au films on various silane monolayers. Thin (1-10 nm) evaporated Au films deposited onto monolayers of(CH3O)(3)Si(CH2)(3)X (X = -SH, -NH2, and -CH3) on SiO2/Si(111) display morphologies which are dependent on the nature of the Au-X interaction. Macroscopic adhesion tests indicate that the Au is strongly bound to the amine and thiol surfaces. The electrical resistivity of 8 nm thick Au films deposited on the amine-terminated surface was found to be 7 orders of magnitude lower than that for the thiol-terminated surface, indicating that the amine-terminated surface favors an increased number of nucleation sites.