Selective ultrathin gold deposition by organometallic chemical vapor deposition onto organic self-assembled monolayers (SAMs)

We demonstrate a selective deposition of ultrathin gold layers via OMCVD (organometallic chemical vapor deposition) onto self-assembled dithiols. Dithiols have been self-assembled to produce a thiolated surface. The gold layer deposited from a gold precursor, present in the vapor around the sample, is bound to the exposed thiol groups. We demonstrate that it is possible to deposit gold only onto the areas where the binding thiol groups are located, and investigate the growth process with spontaneous desorption time-of-flight mass spectrometry, Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy, atomic absorption spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy.