At&t Bell Laboratories

American Telephone & Telegraph Co., At&t Bell Laboratories

At&t Laboratories, Limited

Ralph G Nuzzo

Lawrence H Dubois

Martin L Green

Roland A Levy

David L Allara

Chemical vapor deposition of an aluminum layer on a substrate is facilitated by surface activation prior to deposition. Surface activation is at relatively low temperature and results in a hydrated surface; low temperature surface activation is advantageous in the interest of keeping deposition apparatus free of additional chemicals, and substrates activated in this manner may be stored for considerable lengths of time prior to aluminum deposition. Among suitable activating agents are organochromium, organosilane, and organoaluminum compounds.

Chemical vapor deposition of aluminum on an activated surface

The use of modifiers such as disulfides and phosphines is particularly effective in modifying the properties of metals such as noble metals and silver. For example, disulfides are useful for modifying the properties of gold and silver while phosphines are useful for metals such as platinum and palladium. Through treatment with a suitable modifier it is possible to change properties such as the wetting and adhesion properties of the treated metal. Additionally, the use of modifiers to treat a desired substrate enhances formation of continuous metal films on this substrate.

Modification of the properties of metals

Supported intermetallic compounds are produced by a two-step process. In the first step, a supported metal is formed, for example, by solvating a metallic salt such as nickel nitrate and applying it to a support medium. The treated support body is then heated in the presence of a reducing agent to produce elemental metal. The supported metal is then treated with a reactive organometallic or metal hydride compound to yield a supported intermetallic compound. For example, supported elemental nickel is treated with hexamethyldisilane to produce supported nickel silicide.

Aliphatic aromatization with intemetallic Group VIII-IIIA, IVA catalyst

Metal surfaces are protected from corrosion by reaction with a silane. In the case of a clean metal surface, reaction with the silane produces an intermetallic compound that is subsequently oxidized to yield a surface layer of, for example, silicon oxide. In the situation where the metal has an oxide coating, the silane reacts directly with this coating to produce the protective surface.

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Ralph G Nuzzo