Turnover of texture in low rate sputter-deposited nanocrystalline molybdenum films
The crystallite size and orientation in molybdenum films prepared by magnetron sputtering at a low rate of typical 1 {angstrom}/s and a pressure of 0.45 Pa was investigated by X-ray diffraction and texture analysis. The surface topography was studied using atomic force microscopy. Increasing the film thickness from 20 nm to 3 {micro}m, the films show a turnover from a (110) fiber texture to a (211) mosaic-like texture. In the early state of growth (20 nm thickness) the development of dome-like structures on the surface is observed. The number of these structures increases with film thickness, whereas their size is weakly influenced. The effect of texture turnover is reduced by increasing the deposition rate by a factor of six, and it is absent for samples mounted above the center of the magnetron source. The effect of texture turnover is related to the bombardment of the films with high energetic argon neutrals resulting from backscattering at the target under oblique angle and causing resputtering. Due to the narrow angular distribution of the reflected argon, bombardment of the substrate plane is inhomogeneous and only significant for regions close to the erosion zone of the magnetron.
- Research Organization:
- Abt. Festkoerperphysik der Otto-von-Guericke-Univ., Magdeburg (DE)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft DFG (German Research Partnership)
- OSTI ID:
- 20015523
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Polycrystalline thin films - Structure, Texture, Properties and Applications III, San Francisco, CA (US), 03/31/1997--04/04/1997; Other Information: Single article reprints from this publication are available through University Microfilms Inc., 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48106; PBD: 1997; Related Information: In: Polycrystalline thin films -- Structure, texture, properties and applications III. Materials Research Society symposium proceedings: Volume 472, by Yalisove, S.M.; Adams, B.L.; Im, J.S.; Zhu, Y.; Chen, F.R. [eds.], 489 pages.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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