Self-annealing and aging effect characterization on copper seed thin films

Seed-aging effect study underlines a dependency of the optical reflectivity on surface chemical contamination, whereas it does not seem affected by the evolution of surface roughness. Copper oxidation in air is due to the formation of a bi-layer of Cu2O and Cu(OH)2, the latter showing a weak stability under high vacuum environment. Vacuum annealed samples present a significant increase in reflectivity values, which is maintained even after many hours from copper seed deposition.