Metal adhesion by low energy irradiation of an organic substrate

Abstract From the Canadian patent

A technique is described for improving metal-organic substrate adhesion and for reducing stress between the metal film and the substrate. Beams of low energy reactive ions electrons, or photons are incident upon the substrate to alter the surface chemistry of the substrate to a depth of from about 10 angstroms to a few hundred angstroms. The energy of the incident reactive ions and electrons is about 50-2000eV, while the energy of the incident photons is about 0.2 - 500eV. Irradiation of the substrate can occur prior to or during metal deposition. For simultaneous metal deposition/particle irradiation, the arrival rates of the metal atoms and the substrate treatment particles are within a …