Electron beam assisted chemical vapor deposition of gold in an environmental tem

We demonstrate a novel technique for in situ observation of the chemical vapor deposition of high purity gold using ethyl(trimethylphosphine)gold(I). An environmental transmission electron microscope with 3.8 eV resolution was used to observe and compare the growth of the material with or without electron beam irradiation (120 keV) with Si (100) substrate temperatures ranging from 125-200°C. Typical precursor pressures of 10 ^-4 Torr and E-beam irradiation resulted in rapid growth of virtually continuous gold films. Thermal deposition without the beam resulted in low nucleation densities, low deposition rates, and island-like growth. Images and diffraction patterns acquired during the deposition process indicated polycrystalline gold and elemental analysis at the nanometer scale showed that the films had excellent chemical purity. Atomic force microscopy was also used to investigate the three dimensional morphology of the materials. The most notable result of the deposition process is the dramatic enhancement of the growth rate due to the beam irradiation.