Effect of a Zr seed layer on agglomeration phenomena for Ag nanostructure formation

The morphological characteristics of Ag nanostructures strongly influence their plasmonic properties, making morphology control through processing conditions important for optical applications. In this study, Ag nanodots were formed on MgO(001) substrates using a seed-layer-assisted agglomeration (SLAA) process with a Zr seed layer. The effects of Zr seed-layer thickness, Ag deposition thickness, and annealing time on nanodot formation were investigated. Variations in the processing conditions resulted in systematic changes in nanodot density, surface coverage, and three-dimensional morphology, while the introduction of the Zr seed layer influenced the agglomeration and separation behavior of Ag. After annealing, Zr was found to exist predominantly in an oxidized state, suggesting the formation of a ZrOₓ-based interfacial region between Ag and MgO. In contrast, no distinct difference in the crystallographic orientation of Ag was observed with or without the Zr seed layer. These results suggest that the Zr seed layer primarily contributes to modifying the interfacial state and Ag nanodot morphology rather than controlling crystallographic orientation, indicating its potential as a seed layer for process-based morphology control of Ag nanostructures.