Thin film adhesion improvement under photon irradiation

This paper outlines several observations relating to the modification of the adhesion of thin Al and Au films to semiconductors and oxides by photon irradiation at energies up to 21 eV. Results provide strong evidence that secondary processes (i.e. charged carriers generated by the incident photons) play a major role in bonding rearrangements and adhesion improvement at metal-non-metal interfaces.