Quantum Oscillations and Beats in X-Ray Diffraction during Film Growth

Journal Article · Fri Oct 12 00:00:00 EDT 2007 · Physical Review Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PHYSREVLETT.99.156103· OSTI ID:21024269

Lee, Y -R ^[1]; Gray, A; Chiang, T -C ^[1]; Tischler, J ^[2]; Czoschke, P ^[3]; Hong, H ^[1]; Chang, S -L ^[4]

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1. Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1110 West Green Street, Urbana, Illinois 61801-3080 (United States)
2. Division of Materials Science and Technology, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831 (United States)
3. Seagate Technology, 7801 Computer Avenue South, Bloomington, Minnesota 55435-5412 (United States)
4. National Tsing Hua University, 101, Section 2, Kuang Fu Road, Hsinchu, Taiwan 30013 (China)

X-ray diffraction from a growing film at an anti-Bragg point should exhibit bilayer oscillations caused by interference. In an experiment of TiN film growth by laser ablation onto sapphire, an unexpected beating envelope function is found to modulate the oscillations. The successive nodes and antinodes are identified with the development of new growth domains separated by one atomic layer in thickness. This effect allows atomic layer counting of the film thickness distribution. The results imply that the growth is not characterized by a continuum stochastic process, as usually assumed.

• OSTI ID: 21024269
• Journal Information: Physical Review Letters, Vol. 99, Issue 15; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.99.156103; (c) 2007 The American Physical Society; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0031-9007
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
ABLATION
CRYSTAL GROWTH
INTERFERENCE
LASERS
LAYERS
OSCILLATIONS
SAPPHIRE
STOCHASTIC PROCESSES
THIN FILMS
TITANIUM NITRIDES
X-RAY DIFFRACTION