Growth Behavior of Au Films on SiO₂ Film and Direct Transfer for Smoothing Au Surfaces

Abstract

Direct transfer of Au films deposited on smooth SiO₂ film with RMS (root mean square) surface roughness of 0.24 nm was investigated with the aim of generating smooth Au surfaces. Deposited Au films with different thicknesses were transferred to rough Au surfaces on target substrates at room temperature with a contact pressure of 50 MPa. Observation of the growth behavior of the deposited films revealed that they formed a continuous structure when their nominal film thickness was around 15 nm or above. The transfer of continuous Au films with a thickness of 20, 51, or 102 nm reduced the RMS roughness of the rough Au surfaces from 1.6 nm to 0.4 nm. In contrast, the transfer of Au films with a thickness less than 5 nm increased their surface roughness. This direct transfer technique should thus be useful for low temperature bonding.