Fig. 1: High-temperature oxidation resistance (HTOR) of Si-deposited single-crystal Cu thin films (SCCFs).

a Schematic model of the surface bonding of Si-deposited SCCF. b The energy profiles of O penetration into pristine SCCF and the Si-, Al-, Ge- and Ga-deposited SCCF. An activation energy higher than that of the pristine SCCF indicates the enhanced oxidation resistance of the anchoring element. Note that the energy calculations were performed using the atomistic models containing a triple layer of anchoring element–oxygen–Cu(111) surface, which are detailed in Supplementary Fig. 1. Source data are provided as a Source Data file. c Oxidation-driven color changes of SCCFs with thermal treatment at different temperatures in air. The A1-A6 represent a pristine SCCF (A1) heated at 200 °C for 5 min (A2), 200 °C for 10 min (A3), 260 °C for 1.5 min (A4), 300 °C for 3 min (A5) and 300 °C for 30 min (A6). d Invariant color of Si-deposited SCCFs under harsher conditions, indicating exceptional HTOR. The B1-B6 represent a 5 nm Si-deposited SCCF (B1) heated at 200 °C and 300 °C for 30 min (B2, B3), and a 10 nm Si-deposited SCCF (B4) heated at 200 °C and 400 °C for 30 min (B5, B6). For each designated temperature point, more than 10 experiments were conducted on fresh samples. Visual inspection indicated that the ten samples at each individual temperature were virtually identical.