A new method for silver electroless deposition on Si(100) wafer, based on the silver itself as the seed layer, was developed. The seed layer was first deposited onto the etched wafer surface in an acidic solution of 0.005 mol 1(-1) AgNO3 + 0.06 mol 1(-1) HF. Then the silver thin film was electrolessly deposited upon the seed layer in the electroless bath of AgNO3 + NH3 + acetic acid + NH2NH2 (pH 10.2). The NH2NH2 was taken as the reducing agent. The morphology of the seed layer and the silver film were characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX). The experimental results indicated that the seed layer showed excellent catalytic function for silver electroless deposition. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.