It looks to me like people actually deposit aluminum not on the silicone crystal itself, but on top of the layer of quartz (SiO2) that grew on the wafer, which is the wafer's shiny side. Then aluminum forms strong adhesion with the oxigen atoms, and there is a layer of alumium oxide between SiO2 and aluminum. Am I right?
What is on the matte side of the wafer?
In order to deposit aluminum layer on single-crystal line silicon substrates, it would be preferable to remove the native oxide layer. For the technique, it would be preferable to use the thermal evaporation by Joule effect for Al deposition with variable thicknesses (of some nanometers up to some hundred nanometers). We can also use the pulsed laser deposition (PLD) or sputtering technique.
Thank you, but this isn't exactly the right answer. I was asking if my understanding of the deposited Al layer is correct.
To answer this very important question, I think that spectroscopic ellipsometry can inform you if creating of Al2O3 layer between the native oxide layer and the Al top layer.
I can give you more details if you're interested.
I just wanted to make sure that Al adheres well to fused silica or quartz. I will be sputtering Al on silica-silica fibers. Will update about the result.
So, here's the result. The surface is uneven because I didn't use lapping film below 3 um grit. I set the minimal brightness on the camera. With default settings, the tip area is overexposed.
Adherence seems good. I can clean the fibers with IPO or ethanol, and the metal stays on them.
Hi Elena Renzhiglova ,
What deposition method have you tried?. is that the deposition temperature below 200 deg ?
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