Thin wetting films from aqueous electrolyte solutions on SiC/Si wafer

The stability and rupture of thin wetting films from aqueous NaCl or Na2SO4 solutions of different concentrations on silicon carbide were investigated. The flat surface of SiC was obtained by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PE-CVD) on top of a silicon wafer. The microinterferometric method was used for measuring the film thickness with time. The light reflectance was calculated as a function of film thickness for the four-layer system: air/aqueous solution/SiC/Si wafer. The microinterferometric experiments showed that films from aqueous NaCl and Na2SO4 solutions with concentrations up to 0.01 M were stable independent of the pre-treatment of the substrate. The pre-treatment of the SiC surface was crucial for the wetting film stability at electrolyte concentrations greater than 0.01 M. The films were unstable and ruptured if SiC was washed with 5% hydrofluoric acid and concentrated sulfuric acid, while they were stable if washing was in sulfuric acid only, without immersing SiC in HF. The average equilibrium film thickness was determined as a function of electrolyte concentration. Measurements of the electrokinetic potential ζ were performed by electrophores of SiC powder in 0.001 M NaCl. It was shown that silicon carbide surface was negatively charged. The theory of heterocoagulation was used for the interpretation of the results. Besides the DLVO forces, the structural disjoining pressure (both positive and negative) has been included in the analysis.