Tapas Ghosh, Prasanta Karmakar and Biswarup Satpati
RSC Adv., 2015,5, 94380-94387
DOI:
10.1039/C5RA20297C,
Paper
We report the role of electrochemical Ostwald ripening and the galvanic displacement reaction in uniform particle formation on ion bombarded amorphous (i.e., composed of random atomic spacings) Ge (a-Ge) surfaces compared to crystalline germanium (c-Ge). Silver growth on c-Ge and a-Ge substrates by electroless deposition has been studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM), cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (XTEM), and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). Introduction of defects can provide a control over particle growth by the galvanic displacement reaction that may offer continuous film growth up to a definite thickness. The possibility of surface diffusion and its consequences have also been discussed.