Abstract:
Metal-organic substrate adhesion is improved by irradiating the substrate with low energy reactive ions, electrons, or photons to alter the chemical composition of a surface layer of the substrate to a depth of from about 1 nm to a few tens of nanometers. The energy of the incident reactive ions and electrons can be in the range of about 50 to 2000 eV, while the energy of the incident photons can be in the range of about 0.2 - 500 eV. Irradiation of the substrate can occur prior to or during metal deposition. For simultaneous metal deposition/particle irradiation, the arrival rates of the metal atoms and the substrate treatment particles are within a few orders of magnitude of one another. The low energy irradiation can be conducted at room temperature or elevated temperatures.