Electrical contact at the interface between silicon and transfer-printed gold films by eutectic joining

This paper presents the electrical and morphological properties at the interface between a metal (Au) and a semiconductor (Si) formed by a novel transfer-printing technology. This work shows that a transfer-printed thin (hundreds of nanometers) Au film forms excellent electrical contact on a Si substrate when appropriate thermal treatment is applied. The successful electrical contact is attributed to eutectic joining, which allows for the right amount of atomic level mass transport between Au and Si. The outcomes suggest that transfer-printing-based micromanufacturing can realize not only strong mechanical bonding but also high-quality electrical contact via eutectic joining.