Electrochemical nucleation and growth of copper on Si(111)

In this paper we report on the deposition of copper on n-Si(1 1 1) from 1 n M CuSO4 + 0.1 M H2SO4 (pH = 1) solution. Voltammograms revealed a depositio n peak characteristic of diffusion limited growth. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) images after deposition of a few monolayers showed that deposition oc curs by Volmer-Weber island growth. From analysis of AFM images obtained as a function of deposition time, we show that the nucleus density increases linearly with time, consistent with progressive nucleation. Deposition tran sients follow the rate law for progressive nucleation and 3D diffusion limi ted growth over a wide range of potentials. Ex situ AFM imaging of copper d eposition on annealed miscut surfaces revealed that the copper cluster dens ity is higher in regions of high step density and that nucleation occurs pr eferentially at step edges. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reser ved.