Resistless deposition of metallic nanostructures on ion projection sensitized p-Si

By combining ion projection direct structuring (IPDS) and selective electro plating (SED), structures as small as 100 nm have been obtained on p-Si (100). IPDS uses the fact that impinging ions create defects at the wafer surface, which can be used to selectively trigger electrochemical reactions (resistless process). Cu, Au and Ni structures have been produced by this process. Microcapillary measurements were used to determine the influence of ion dose and species-implanted by IPDS-on the electrochemical behavior of the sample. The measurements show that an optimum implantation dose exists for every ion species; for higher doses amorphization occurs, leading to inhibition of the selective deposition process. Electrochemical selectivity is determined by the amount of damage created and not by the number of implanted ions; heavy ions (such as Xe+) are therefore preferable, as lower doses are needed, leading to shorter exposure times.