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Water Adsorption at Polymer/Silicon Wafer Interfaces

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 February 2011

Wen-Li Wu
Affiliation:
Polymers Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899
Michael S. Kent
Affiliation:
Sandia National Labs., P.O.Box 5800, Albuquerque, NM 87185
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Abstract

Neutron reflectivity (NR) was applied to measure the concentration of water at the buried interfaces between polymer and silicon single crystal wafers. In the polyimide samplesexcess water was discovered within 30 Å of the silicon/polymer interface,where the water concentration reached 17% (by volume) for the samples without a couplingagent and 12% for the ones with coupling agent. Beyond the interface, the water concentration was measured at 2-3%, which is typical of bulk polyimide. Excess water was alsofound at the silicon/epoxy interface; more than 30% water was found within 150Å of the interface in the samples with their interface precoated with a coupling agent.The equilibrium moisture content in bulk epoxy used in this study is about 6%. The aboveresults demonstrate conclusively the unique power of NR in determining water concentration near a buried interface, and provide the first quantitative evidence for a water concentration profile which peaks in the interface region.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1994

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References

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