The work described in this thesis represents an attempt to summarize to date the information collected on the process of high energy heavy ion induced enhanced adhesion. Briefly, the process involves the irradiation of materials covered by thin (≾ 3 μm) films with high energy (E > 200 keV / nucleon) heavy ion beams (such as Fluorine or Chlorine). Enhanced adhesion has been observed on all material combinations tested, including metal on metal, metal on semiconductor, metal on dielectric and dielectric on dielectric systems. In some cases, the enhancement can be quite large, so that a film that could be wiped off a substrate quite easily before irradiation can withstand determined scrubbing afterwards.
Very little is understood yet about this adhesion mechanism, so what is presented are primarily observations about systems studied, and descriptions of the actual preparation and irradiation of samples used. Some discussion is presented about mechanisms that have been considered but rejected.
