Controlling the adhesion of electroless plating Ni-P film on silicon wafer by means of silane compound modification and rapid thermal annealing

In this study, we investigated the effect of silane compound immersion time and post annealing temperature on the adhesion of electroless plating (ELP) Ni-P film on silicon wafer. The silane compound-modified surface was carefully analyzed by atomic force microscope (AFM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and water contact angle (WCA). It is evidenced that silane compound approaches self-assembly monolayer (SAM) at immersion time of 30 min and thereby exhibits best ELP Ni-P film adhesion of 10.83MPa in the absence of post rapid thermal annealing (RTA). On the contrary, in the presence of RTA, the best adhesion of ELP Ni-P film of 7.86MPa occurs in the ETAS immersion time of 15 minutes. From SEM cross-sectional image, the formation of intermetallic compound (IMC) accounts for the enhancement of adhesion. Overall, the adhesion of ELP Ni-P film on silicon wafer can be manipulated by controlling the configuration of silane compound and the necessity of RTA.