Neutron reflectivity (NR) was applied to measure te concentration of water at the buried interfaces between an amorphous poltimide and silicon single crystal wafers. Excess water was discovered within 30 Å of the metal/polymer interface, where the water concentration reached 17% (by volume) for the samples without a coupling agent and 12% for the ones with coupling agent. Beyond the interface, the water concentration was measured at2 to 3%, which is typical of bulk polyimide. The above results demonstrate conclusively the unique power of NR in determining water concentration near a buried interface, and provide the first quantitative evidence for a water concentration profile which peaks in the interface region.
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