Investigation of nucleation and growth mechanism during electrochemical deposition of nickel on fluorine doped tin oxide substrate

Electrochemical deposition is an alternative method for metallization of semiconductors due to its low cost, simplicity and scalability. Knowing the mechanism of nucleation and growth during electrochemical deposition of metal films on semiconductor substrates is required for obtaining metallization with superior performance. In the present work, the mechanism of nucleation and growth during electrochemical deposition of Ni on fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO) substrate was investigated using a physical model which was proposed by Scharifker-Hills in 1983. Voltammetric and chronoamperometric measurements were performed using three electrodes electrochemical cell. Scan rate dependence of anodic and cathodic peaks of voltammograms showed that the nucleation and growth are controlled by diffusion of Ni2+ ions to growing centers. Moreover, the measured current transient curves were compared to those calculated from Scharifker-Hills model for both instantaneous and progressive nucleation mechanisms. It was found that instantaneous nucleation mechanism governs the nucleation and growth of Ni on FTO substrate during electrochemical deposition.