Copper electrodeposition and dissolution on tetrahedral amorphous carbon incorporating nitrogen

Metal deposition and dissolution on diamond and diamond-like materials have different characteristics than on metallic electrodes and typical graphiti c carbons. The behavior of copper on the recently developed tetrahedral amo rphous carbon incorporating nitrogen (taC:N) film materials is addressed wi th quantitative speciation and voltammetry through rotating ring-disk elect rode techniques. The nearly atomically smooth and widely stable taC:N film on polished Si wafers shows high nucleation overpotentials for copper depos ition followed by anodic dissolution requiring participation of both the st able Cu(I) and Cu(II) states present in chloride media. The adhesion of cop per films plated from conventional sulfate baths is strongly dependent on t ransport conditions. The anodic characteristics of the deposits reflect bot h the difficult nucleation process and the relative inertness of the taC:N interface. (C) 2001 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.