Adhesion loss surface contamination

For T3250 processed wafers, ESCA shows an increase in Si and oxygen surface concentrations with a concurrent loss in carbon concentration. Therefore, carbon surface contamination on the gold is being replaced with -the chemisorbed or physisorbed primer species. HMDS-treated Au surfaces exhibited no such change in surface chemical nature, consistent with the no improvement adhesion lifting test results for that promoter. 

The derivatisation technique as developed for the extension of ESCA analytical capacity has the added bonus that the same surfaces can be used to study specific interactions in adhesion in the spirit of Owens approach (13), but with a built-in monitor of surface composition. This overcomes the possibility that artefacts, such as contamination, loss of surface material or solvent-induced re-orientation effects could be responsible for the observed adhesion changes - artefacts that Owens experiments could not rule out. 

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