Surface roughness evolution of nanocomposite thin films

Journal Article · Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 2009 · Journal of Applied Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3037237· OSTI ID:21185955

Turkin, A A ^[1]; Pei, Y T; Shaha, K P; Chen, C Q; Vainshtein, D I

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1. National Science Center, 'Kharkov Institute of Physics and Technology', 1 Akademicheskaya str., UA-61108 Kharkov (Ukraine)

An analysis of dynamic roughening and smoothening mechanisms of thin films grown with pulsed-dc magnetron sputtering is presented. The roughness evolution has been described by a linear stochastic equation, which contains the second- and fourth-order gradient terms. Dynamic smoothening of the growing interface is explained by ballistic effects resulting from impingements of ions to the growing thin film. These ballistic effects are sensitive to the flux and energy of impinging ions. The predictions of the model are compared with experimental data, and it is concluded that the thin film roughness can be further controlled by adjusting waveform, frequency, and width of dc pulses.

• OSTI ID: 21185955
• Journal Information: Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 105, Issue 1; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.3037237; (c) 2009 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-8979
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
COMPOSITE MATERIALS
DEPOSITION
DIAMONDS
DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
NANOSTRUCTURES
ROUGHNESS
SPUTTERING
STOCHASTIC PROCESSES
THIN FILMS
WAVE FORMS