Corrosion Protection of Copper Using Al2O3, TiO2, ZnO, HfO2, and ZrO2 Atomic Layer Deposition

James S Daubert; Grant T Hill; Hannah N Gotsch; Antoine P Gremaud; Jennifer S Ovental; Philip S Williams; Christopher J Oldham; Gregory N Parsons

doi:10.1021/acsami.6b13571

Corrosion Protection of Copper Using Al₂O₃, TiO₂, ZnO, HfO₂, and ZrO₂ Atomic Layer Deposition

ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2017 Feb 1;9(4):4192-4201. doi: 10.1021/acsami.6b13571. Epub 2017 Jan 18.

Authors

James S Daubert¹, Grant T Hill¹, Hannah N Gotsch¹, Antoine P Gremaud¹, Jennifer S Ovental¹, Philip S Williams¹, Christopher J Oldham¹, Gregory N Parsons¹

Affiliation

¹ Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, North Carolina State University , Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, United States.

PMID: 28098440
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.6b13571

Abstract

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is a viable means to add corrosion protection to copper metal. Ultrathin films of Al₂O₃, TiO₂, ZnO, HfO₂, and ZrO₂ were deposited on copper metal using ALD, and their corrosion protection properties were measured using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV). Analysis of ∼50 nm thick films of each metal oxide demonstrated low electrochemical porosity and provided enhanced corrosion protection from aqueous NaCl solution. The surface pretreatment and roughness was found to affect the extent of the corrosion protection. Films of Al₂O₃ or HfO₂ provided the highest level of initial corrosion protection, but films of HfO₂ exhibited the best coating quality after extended exposure. This is the first reported instance of using ultrathin films of HfO₂ or ZrO₂ produced with ALD for corrosion protection, and both are promising materials for corrosion protection.

Keywords: ALD; EIS; LSV; copper; corrosion protection.