Adhesion mechanism between titanium and gold?

[sabine_]

Hi all,

I sputtered titanium (10 nm) - gold (~ 100 nm) films at room temperature on
oxidized silicon substrates. The titanium acts as an adhesion promoter between the SiO2
and the gold film.
My Question:
What is the adhesion mechanism between the titanium and gold film at room temperature (273-300 K)?

Thanks.

Sabbi

 

[Mapes]

Metallic bonding.

 

[sabine_]

I thought of interdiffusion and building up of an intermetallic transition Zone (TiAu2, TiAu,...).
But this happens properly only at higher temperatures ?
Could you give me a reference for metallic bonding as the adhesion mechanism in the Ti-Au-System ?

Thanks a lot.
Best regards

 

[Mapes]

Some degree of alloying occurs at all temperatures. Try Google Scholar for relevant studies, e.g., Tisone and Drobak, "Diffusion in Thin Film Ti–Au, Ti–Pd, and Ti–Pt Couples" and Martinez et al., "Titanium diffusion in gold thin films".

 

[sabine_]

Thank you very much!sabi