An order–disorder–order adlayer transition of 2,2′-bipyridine on Au(111)

Vapor-Phase Cleaning and Corrosion Inhibition of Copper Films by Ethanol and Heterocyclic Amines

Cleaning and passivation of metal surfaces are necessary steps for selective film deposition processes that are attractive for some microelectronic applications (e.g., fully aligned vias or self-aligned contacts). For copper, there is limited knowledge about the mechanisms of the copper oxide reduction process and subsequent passivation layer formation reactions. We have investigated the in situ cleaning (i.e., oxidation and reduction by vapor-phase species) and passivation of chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP)-prepared Cu films in an effort to derive the mechanisms associated with selectively tailoring the surface chemistry. By monitoring the interaction of vapor-phase ethanol with the surface species generated after ozone cleaning at 300 °C, we find that the optimum procedure to remove these species and avoid byproduct redeposition is to use atomic layer deposition (ALD)-like binary cycles of ethanol and N₂, with active pumping. We have further explored passivation of clean Cu using benzotriazole and 2,2'-bipyridine in an ALD environment. Both molecules chemisorb on clean Cu in an upright orientation, with respect to the metal surface at temperatures higher than the melting point of the organic inhibitors (100 ≤ T < 300 °C). Both molecules desorb without decomposition from clean Cu above 300 °C but not from Cu₂O. Previous studies related to the passivation of Cu surfaces using heterocyclic amines have focused on solution-based or ultrahigh vacuum applications of the passivation molecules onto single crystalline Cu samples. The present work explores more industrially relevant vapor-phase passivation of CMP-cleaned, electroplated Cu samples using ALD-like processing conditions and in situ vapor-phase cleaning.

Molecular ordering at electrified interfaces: Template and potential effects

A combination of cyclic voltammetry and in situ scanning tunneling microscopy was employed to examine the adsorption and phase transition of 1,1’-dibenzyl-4,4’-bipyridinium molecules (abbreviated as DBV²⁺) on a chloride-modified Cu(111) electrode surface. The cyclic voltammogram (CV) of the Cu(111) electrode exposed to a mixture of 10 mM HCl and 0.1 mM DBVCl₂ shows three distinguishable pairs of current waves P1/P’1, P2/P’2, and P3/P’3 which are assigned to two reversible electron transfer steps, representing the reduction of the dicationic DBV²⁺ to the corresponding radical monocationic DBV^+• (P1/P’1) and then to the uncharged DBV⁰ (P3/P’3) species, respectively, as well as the chloride desorption/readsorption processes (P2/P’2). At positive potentials (i.e., above P1) the DBV²⁺ molecules spontaneously adsorb and form a highly ordered phase on the c(p × √3)-precovered Cl/Cu(111) electrode surface. A key element of this DBV²⁺ adlayer is an assembly of two individual DBV²⁺ species which, lined up, forms a so-called “herring-bone” structure. Upon lowering the electrode potential the first electron transfer step (at P1) causes a phase transition from the DBV²⁺-related herring-bone phase to the so-called "alternating stripe" pattern built up by the DBV^+• species following a nucleation and growth mechanism. Comparison of both observed structures with those found earlier at different electrode potentials on a c(2 × 2)Cl-precovered Cu(100) electrode surface enables a clear assessment of the relative importance of adsorbate–substrate and adsorbate–adsorbate interactions, i.e., template vs self-assembly effects, in the structure formation process of DBV cations on these modified Cu electrode surfaces.

Molecular self-assembly at metal-electrolyte interfaces

The self-assembly of molecular layers has become an important strategy in modern design of functional materials. However, in particular, large organic molecules may no longer be sufficiently volatile to be deposited by vapor deposition. In this case, deposition from solution may be a promising route; in ionic form, these molecules may even be soluble in water. In this contribution, we present and discuss results on the electrochemical deposition of viologen- and porphyrin molecules as well as their co-adsorption on chloride modified Cu(100) and Cu(111) single crystal electrode surfaces from aqueous acidic solutions. Using in situ techniques like cyclic voltametry and high resolution scanning tunneling microscopy, as well as ex-situ photoelectron spectroscopy data the highly ordered self-assembled organic layers are characterized with respect to their electrochemical behavior, lateral order and inner conformation as well as phase transitions thereof as a function of their redox-state and the symmetry of the substrate. As a result, detailed structure models are derived and are discussed in terms of the prevailing interactions.

Faradaic phase transition of dibenzyl viologen on an HOPG electrode surface studied by in situ electrochemical STM and electroreflectance spectroscopy

Phase transitions of an adsorption layer of dibenzyl viologen (dBV) as a typical diaryl viologen on a basal plane of a highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) electrode are described using voltammetry, in situ electrochemical scanning tunneling microscopy (EC-STM), and electroreflectance (ER) spectroscopy. A monolayer redox process at less negative potential than the bulk redox process was found to be the first-order faradaic phase transition between a gaslike adsorption layer of dication (dBV(2+)) and a 2D condensed monolayer of radical cation (dBV(•+)). Comparison of the results of cyclic voltammetry and potential step chronoamperometry was made with those of heptyl viologen (HV), which also undergoes a faradaic phase transition of the first order. It suggested that the contribution of intermolecular π-π interaction between benzyl groups of dBV to the phase transition is minor and apparently equivalent to interchain interaction between the heptyl chains of HV. In situ EC-STM images of the 2D condensed monolayer demonstrated stripe patterns of the rows of dBV(•+) molecules forming 3-fold rotationally symmetric domains. The results of the ER measurements also revealed that the orientation of the longitudinal molecular axis of the bipyridinium moiety of dBV(•+) molecules lying flat on the HOPG electrode surface, most likely with a side-on configuration.

Comparative electrochemical scanning tunneling microscopy study of nonionic fluorosurfactant zonyl FSN self-assembled monolayers on Au(111) and Au(100): a potential-induced structural transition

We investigate the structure of nonionic fluorosurfactant zonyl FSN self-assembled monolayers on Au(111) and Au(100) in 0.05 M H(2)SO(4) as a function of the electrode potential by electrochemical scanning tunneling microscopy (ECSTM). On Au(111), a (3(1/2) × 3(1/2))R30° arrangement of the FSN SAMs is observed, which remains unchanged in the potential range where the redox reaction of FSN molecules does not occur. On Au(100), some parallel corrugations of the FSN SAMs are observed, which originate from the smaller distance and the repulsive interaction between FSN molecules to make the FSN molecules deviate from the bridging sites, and ECSTM reveals a potential-induced structural transition of the FSN SAMs. The experimental observations are rationalized by the effect of the intermolecular interaction. The smaller distance between molecules on Au(100) results in the repulsive force, which increases the probability of structural change induced by external factors (i.e., the electrode potential). The appropriate distance and interactions of FSN molecules account for the stable structure of FSN SAMs on Au(111). Surface crystallography may influence the intermolecular interaction through changing the molecular arrangements of the SAMs. The results benefit the molecular-scale understanding of the behavior of the FSN SAMs under electrochemical potential control.

Molecular Dynamics in Two-Dimensional Supramolecular Systems Observed by STM

Since the invention of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), 2D supramolecular architectures have been observed under various experimental conditions. The construction of these architectures arises from the balance between interactions at the medium-solid interface. This review summarizes molecular motion observed in 2D-supramolecular structures on surfaces using nanospace resolution STM. The observation of molecular motion on surfaces provides a visual understanding of intermolecular interactions, which are the major driving force behind supramolecular arrangement.

Adsorbed structures of 4,4'-bipyridine on Cu(111) in acid studied by STM and IR

The adsorption of 4,4'-bipyridine (BiPy) on Cu(111) has been investigated in 0.1 M HClO4 by cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), and surface-enhanced infrared adsorption spectroscopy (SEIRAS). Cyclic voltammetry showed the double layer region extending from -0.2 to 0.26 V and a pair of redox waves superposing on hydrogen evolution wave at more negative potentials. Diprotonated BiPy, BiPyH2(2+), is adsorbed flat on the Cu(111) (1 x 1) surface and forms a well-ordered monolayer with a (3 x 4) symmetry in the double-layer potential region. At more negative potential, BiPyH2(2+) is reduced to its monocation radical, BiPyH2(*+), and forms another well-ordered structure in which the radicals are stacked in molecular rows with a face-to-face self-dimer as the building unit. The SEIRA spectra of both BiPyH2(2+) and BiPyH2(*+) are dominated by gerade modes which should be IR-inactive for the centrosymmetric species. The breakdown of the selection rule of IR absorption is ascribed to the vibronic coupling associated with charge transfer between BiPyH2(2+) and the surface and between the radicals.