THEORETICAL APPROACH TO INTERFACIAL METAL-OXIDE BONDING

This paper reviews existing theoretical calculations of the electronic characteristics and of the adhesion energy at a metal-oxide interface , in the context of non reactive adhesion processes and two- or three- dimensional metal growth processes. Emphasis is put on the competition between metal-cation and metal-oxygen interfacial interactions, on th e resulting charge transfers and on the Fermi level position. Aside fr om the well-known image force and van der Waals contributions to the a dhesion energy, the importance of kinetic and electrostatic terms asso ciated with the Metal Induced Gap States and the interfacial dipole is stressed.