Williamson M J, Tromp R M, Vereecken P M, Hull R, Ross F M
School of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22903, USA.
Nat Mater. 2003 Aug;2(8):532-6. doi: 10.1038/nmat944.
Dynamic processes at the solid-liquid interface are of key importance across broad areas of science and technology. Electrochemical deposition of copper, for example, is used for metallization in integrated circuits, and a detailed understanding of nucleation, growth and coalescence is essential in optimizing the final microstructure. Our understanding of processes at the solid-vapour interface has advanced tremendously over the past decade due to the routine availability of real-time, high-resolution imaging techniques yielding data that can be compared quantitatively with theory. However, the difficulty of studying the solid-liquid interface leaves our understanding of processes there less complete. Here we analyse dynamic observations--recorded in situ using a novel transmission electron microscopy technique--of the nucleation and growth of nanoscale copper clusters during electrodeposition. We follow in real time the evolution of individual clusters, and compare their development with simulations incorporating the basic physics of electrodeposition during the early stages of growth. The experimental technique developed here is applicable to a broad range of dynamic phenomena at the solid-liquid interface.
固液界面的动态过程在广泛的科学技术领域中至关重要。例如，铜的电化学沉积用于集成电路的金属化，深入了解成核、生长和聚结对于优化最终微观结构至关重要。在过去十年中，由于实时、高分辨率成像技术的常规应用，所产生的数据能够与理论进行定量比较，我们对固气界面过程的理解有了巨大进展。然而，研究固液界面的困难使得我们对那里的过程理解不够完整。在这里，我们分析了使用一种新型透射电子显微镜技术原位记录的电沉积过程中纳米级铜簇成核和生长的动态观察结果。我们实时跟踪单个簇的演化，并将它们的发展与包含生长早期电沉积基本物理过程的模拟进行比较。这里开发的实验技术适用于固液界面的广泛动态现象。
