Adhesion enhancement induced by MeV ion beams

Abstract Enhancement in adhesion of thin Au films on vitreous SiO 2 and GaAs substrates was induced by a 35 C1 ion beam at energies between 6.5 and 21.0 MeV and doses from 10 12 ions/cm 2 to 10 15 ions/cm 2 . The enhanced adhesion was studied by using the “Scotch Tape” and the “Scratch” tests. For Au on SiO 2 it was found that the film passes the “Scotch Tape” test in two different dose ranges; one at low dose centered around 10 13 ions/cm 2 and almost independent of ion beam energy, the other at higher dose and more strongly dependent on beam energy. In the case of Au film on GaAs, in order to study the role of the electronic properties on the enhancement in adhesion, wafers with four different dopants (Cr, Si, Te, and Zn) were used and very different adhesion modifications were found depending on the dopant.