GRAIN NUCLEATION AND TEXTURE ANALYSIS OF ELECTROLESS COPPER DEPOSITION ON A PALLADIUM SEED LAYER

Electroless copper grains were deposited on a Pd seed layer under vary ing bath conditions. The seed layer was determined to have a (Ill)text ure using grazing incident x-ray (GM) diffraction. Multiple nucleation sites in the grain boundaries were imaged using a scanning tunneling microscope. Continual copper growth produced row-like structures. The texture of the electrolessly deposited copper (ED-Cu) grains were dete rmined to be (111). No radial grain orientation for the Pd seed layer or the ED-Cu thin film was detected using GM diffraction. Atomic force microscope images indicated continual Cu nucleation throughout the de position process. PdH was formed as a by-product of the electroless de position process, and detected by x-ray diffraction.