Ag, Au, Pd, and Pt seed layers were prepared by immersion deposition onto p-Si(100) wafers from noble metal-salt solution containing HF. Atomic force microscopy (AFM), open circuit potential with time (OCP), cyclic voltammetry (CV) and A.C. impedance were used to characterize the seed layers. AFM showed that during 20 s immersion deposition, the substrate was covered completely by the Ag and Pd seed layers; for Au, about 37% of the substrate was covered, while for Pt, the seed layer was very sparse and almost could not be detected. When the immersion time was prolonged to 60 s, the substrates were covered completely by Ag, Pd and Au seed layers, but the particle density of Pt had no obvious improvement. In cyclic voltammograms of the noble metal seed layers, the oxidation current of Pd was one order of magnitude bigger than those of others. A.C. impedance revealed that the impedance of Pd was the lowest. Results indicated that Ag, Pd and Au seed layers could be prepared on p-Si by short-time immersion deposition.

Key words: monocrystal silicon, noble metal, seed layer, immersion deposition