Investigation of interface roughness cross-correlation properties of optical thin films from total scattering losses

The interface roughness and interface roughness cross-correlation properties affect the scattering losses of high-quality optical thin films. In this paper, the theoretical models of light scattering induced by surface and interface roughness of optical thin films are concisely presented. Furthermore, influence of interface roughness cross-correlation properties to light scattering is analyzed by total scattering losses. Moreover, single-layer TiO₂ thin film thickness, substrate roughness of K9 glass and ion beam assisted deposition (IBAD) technique effect on interface roughness cross-correlation properties are studied by experiments, respectively. A 17-layer dielectric quarter-wave high reflection multilayer is analyzed by total scattering losses. The results show that the interface roughness cross-correlation properties depend on TiO₂ thin film thickness, substrate roughness and deposition technique. The interface roughness cross-correlation properties decrease with the increase of film thickness or the decrease of substrates roughness. Furthermore, ion beam assisted deposition technique can increase the interface roughness cross-correlation properties of optical thin films. The measured total scattering losses of 17-layer dielectric quarter-wave high reflection multilayer deposited with IBAD indicate that completely correlated interface model can be observed, when substrate roughness is about 2.84 nm.     

Anomalous scaling in surface roughness evaluation of electrodeposited nanocrystalline Pt thin films

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is used to measure the surface roughness of crystalline Pt thin films as a function of film thickness and growth rate. Our films were electrodeposited on Au/Cr/glass substrates, under galvanostatic control (constant current density), from a single electrolyte containing Pt⁴⁺ ions. Crystalline structure of the films was confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique. The effect of growth rate (deposition current density) and film thickness (deposition time) on the kinetic roughening of the films were studied using AFM and roughness calculation. The data is consistent with a rather complex behaviour known as “anomalous scaling” where both local and large scale roughnesses show power law dependence on the film thickness.     

Microstructure and tribological performance of self-lubricating diamond/tetrahedral amorphous carbon composite film

In order to smooth the rough surface and further improve the wear-resistance of coarse chemical vapor deposition diamond films, diamond/tetrahedral amorphous carbon composite films were synthesized by a two-step preparation technique including hot-filament chemical vapor deposition for polycrystalline diamond (PCD) and subsequent filtered cathodic vacuum arc growth for tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C). The microstructure and tribological performance of the composite films were investigated by means of various characterization techniques. The results indicated that the composite films consisted of a thick well-grained diamond base layer with a thickness up to 150 μm and a thin covering ta-C layer with a thickness of about 0.3 μm, and sp³-C fraction up to 73.93%. Deposition of a smooth ta-C film on coarse polycrystalline diamond films was proved to be an effective tool to lower the surface roughness of the polycrystalline diamond film. The wear-resistance of the diamond film was also enhanced by the self-lubricating effect of the covering ta-C film due to graphitic phase transformation. Under dry pin-on-disk wear test against Si₃N₄ ball, the friction coefficients of the composite films were much lower than that of the single PCD film. An extremely low friction coefficient (∼0.05) was achieved for the PCD/ta-C composite film. Moreover, the addition of Ti interlayer between the ta-C and the PCD layers can further reduce the surface roughness of the composite film. The main wear mechanism of the composite films was abrasive wear.     

Octaethylporphin films. II absorption and emission of amorphous films

Amorphous thin films octaethylporphin have been prepared and are observed to crystallize over time if thicker than about 100 nm. Transmission spectra of amorphous films have a sharper Soret band than transmission spectra of crystalline films and lack the exciton band seen in crystalline films. The exciton band can be resolved in amorphous films by taking a difference spectrum between two amorphous films of different thickness. Fluorescence is observed from one impurity in amorphous films as compared to two impurities in crystalline films. This indicates a smaller exciton diffusion length in amorphous films as compared to crystalline films, consistent with the differences in the transmission spectra of the two kinds of film.     

Specific character of the 119Sn thin films growth on amorphous Si by the CBPLD method

The research of the ¹¹⁹Sn thin films growth on amorphous Si that is important for the multilayer periodical spin-tunnel nanostructures creation have been investigated in this paper. The ¹¹⁹Sn mono-isotopic thin films on the silicon substrates (100) had been received by crossed-beam pulsed laser deposition method (CBPLD). Similarly the [Fe/Si/Sn/Si] multilayer periodical structures have been deposited. The received samples were investigated by atomic-force microscopy, electronic microscopy and X-ray reflectometry methods. It has been established that at ¹¹⁹Sn film thickness up to 3 nm it is possible to received atomic-smooth surfaces with 0.5 nm roughness.     

The thickness dependence of the crystallization behavior in sandwiched amorphous Ge2Sb2Te5 thin films

The thickness dependent crystallization behavior of thin amorphous Ge₂Sb₂Te₅(GST) films sandwiched between different cladding materials has been investigated based on a thermodynamic model. It is revealed that there is a critical thickness below which the crystallization cannot occur. The critical thickness is determined by the energy difference Δγ between the crystalline GST/substrate interface energy and the amorphous GST/substrate interface energy, the melting enthalpy, and the mole volume. The calculated result is in good agreement with the experiments. Furthermore, the crystallization temperature is also affected by interface energy difference Δγ. Larger Δγ gives rise to a higher crystallization temperature, and vice versa. This impact becomes stronger as the film thickness is decreased.     

Atomic layer deposition of HfO2: Effect of structure development on growth rate, morphology and optical properties of thin films

HfO₂ films were grown by atomic layer deposition from HfCl₄ and H₂O on Si(1 0 0), Si(1 1 1) and amorphous SiO₂ substrates at 180-750 °C and the effect of deposition temperature and film thickness on the growth rate and optical properties of the film material was studied. Crystallization, texture development and surface roughening were demonstrated to result in a noticeable growth rate increase with increasing film thickness. Highest surface roughness values were determined for the films deposited at 350-450 °C on all substrates used. The density of the film material increased with the concentration of crystalline phase but, within experimental uncertainty, was independent of orientation and sizes of crystallites in polycrystalline films. Refractive index increased with the material density. In addition, the refractive index values that were calculated from the transmission spectra depended on the surface roughness and crystallite sizes because the light scattering, which directly influenced the extinction coefficient, caused also a decrease of the refractive index determined in this way.     

Atomic force microscopy study of growth kinetics: Scaling in TiN-TiB2 nanocomposite films on Si(1 0 0)

We used the reactive unbalanced close-field dc-magnetron sputtering growth of TiN-TiB₂ on Si(1 0 0) at room temperature to determine if scaling theory provides insight into the kinetic mechanisms of two-phase nanocomposite thin films. Scaling analyses along with height-difference correlation functions of measured atomic force microscopy (AFM) images have shown that the TiN-TiB₂ nanocomposite films with thickness ranging from 70 to 950 nm exhibit a kinetic surface roughening with the roughness increasing with thickness exponentially. The roughness exponent α and growth exponent β are determined to be ∼0.93 and ∼0.25, respectively. The value of dynamic exponent z, calculated by measurement of the lateral correlation length ξ, is ∼3.70, agreeing well with the ratio of α to β. These results indicate that the surface growth behavior of sputter-deposited TiN-TiB₂ thin films follows the classical Family-Vicseck scaling and can be reasonably described by the noisy Mullins diffusion model, at which surface diffusion serves as the smoothing effect and shot noise as the roughening mechanism.     

Surface roughness analysis and magnetic property studies of nickel thin films electrodeposited onto rotating disc electrodes

Ni films were electrodeposited onto polycrystalline gold substrates mounted on a rotating disc electrode. The effects of rotation speed, film thickness and current density on the kinetic roughening and magnetic properties of the films were investigated. The film surface roughness was imaged using an atomic force microscope (AFM). The results indicate that the film roughness increases as the film thickness or deposition current density increases. We found that the electrodeposited Ni films exhibit anomalous scaling since both local and large-scale roughnesses show a power-law dependence on the film thickness. The effect of electrode rotation speed on the film surface roughness was also investigated. Scanning electron microscopy studies (SEM) had a good agreement with the AFM results. The average crystalline size of the film surfaces is also calculated from X-ray line broadening using (220) peak and Debye–Scherrer formula. The obtained results agree with that of AFM and SEM. The Ni thin films which are grown at different deposition current densities and rotation speeds exhibit in-plane magnetization with coercivities less than 110 Oe.     

Investigating the nanostructured gold thin films using the multifractal analysis

The atomic force microscopy images representing the surface morphology of the nanostructured gold thin films of thickness of 20, 50 and 200 nm, respectively, were investigated using the multifractal analysis. The interface width and growth exponent corresponding to films of different thicknesses were estimated. The surfaces having greater roughness give rise to larger nonlinearity and wider width of the multifractal spectrum. The statistical tests confirm that the gold thin film surfaces under investigation are multifractal in nature.     

The origin of internal stresses in amorphous transition metal alloy films

Amorphous binary-alloy films of ZrCu and ZrCo prepared by electron-beam evaporation show considerable mechanical stresses, which are measured by a capacitive cantilever beam technique. Tensile and compressive stresses are observed, dependent on composition, substrate temperature, and film thickness. The values of the tensile stresses are explained in a freezing model in correlation to a characteristic temperature of the amorphous alloy (glass transition temperature). The thickness dependent compressive stresses can be made plausible by a Stranski-Krastanov growth of the amorphous films which includes a substrate-film interaction due to the specific surface energy and the surface roughness of the films.Dedicated to Prof. Dr. G. von Minnigerode on the occasion of his 60th birthday     

The effects of thermal annealing on the structure and the electrical transport properties of ultrathin gadolinia-doped ceria films grown by pulsed laser deposition

Ultrathin crystalline films of 10 mol% gadolinia-doped ceria (CGO10) are grown on MgO (100) substrates by pulsed laser deposition at a moderate temperature of 400°C. As-deposited CGO10 layers of approximately 4 nm, 14 nm, and 22 nm thickness consist of fine grains with dimensions ≤∼11 nm. The films show high density within the thickness probed in the X-ray reflectivity experiments. Thermally activated grain growth, density decrease, and film surface roughening, which may result in the formation of incoherent CGO10 islands by dewetting below a critical film thickness, are observed upon heat treatment at 400°C and 800°C. The effect of the grain coarsening on the electrical characteristics of the layers is investigated and discussed in the context of a variation of the number density of grain boundaries. The results are evaluated with regard to the use of ultrathin CGO10 films as seeding templates for the moderate temperature growth of thick solid electrolyte films with improved oxygen transport properties.     

Early stages of laser mixing process in Sb/Ge multilayer thin films

The onset of mixing at the interfaces between Sb and Ge in thin multilayered films containing two or four layers has been studied. The films were irradiated with nanosecond laser pulses in order to trigger mixing, and in situ reflectivity measurements were used to follow the transformation in real-time. Cross sectional transmission electron microscopy analysis was used to study both the structure and the composition profile before and after irradiation.A threshold irradiation energy exists for the onset of mixing, below which roughening of the interface between the layers is observed, together with recrystallization of the surface Sb layer following melting. The results are consistent with a melting/diffusion process which is inhomogeneously nucleated at the interface between the top Sb and Ge layers. Once mixing is initiated an amorphous Sb-Ge layer of constant thickness is formed, corresponding to mixing along a well defined planar melt front. Voids are observed at the former Sb/Ge interface, which may be related to interfacial stress in the as-grown configuration.     

AlN/BN纳米结构多层膜微结构及力学性能

用射频磁控溅射法制备了AlN,BN单层膜及AlN/BN纳米多层膜.采用X射线衍射仪、高分辨率透射电子显微镜和纳米压痕仪对薄膜结构进行表征.分析表明：单层膜AlN为w-AlN结构,BN为非晶相.AlN/BN多层膜中BN的结构与BN层厚有关.当BN层厚小于0.55nm时,由于AlN层模板的作用,BN发生了外延生长,BN与AlN的结构相同;当BN层厚大于0.74nm时,BN为非晶.AlN/BN多层膜的硬度也与BN层的厚度有关.当BN层厚为1—2个分子层时,AlN/BN多层膜具有超硬效应;当BN层厚增加到0.74 关键词： AlN/BN多层膜 BN结构 超硬效应     

Hydrophilicity of amorphous TiO2 ultra-thin films

The UV-light-induced hydrophilicity of amorphous titanium dioxide thin films obtained by radio frequency magnetron sputtering deposition was studied in relation with film thickness. The effect of UV light irradiation on the film hydrophilicity was fast, strong and did not depend on substrate or thickness for films thicker than a threshold value of about 12 nm, while for thinner films it was weak and dependent on substrate or thickness. The weak effect of UV light irradiation observed for the ultra-thin films (with thickness less than 12 nm) is explained based on results of measurements of surface topography, UV-light absorption and photocurrent decay in vacuum. Comparing to thicker films, the ultra-thin films have a smoother surface, which diminish their real surface area and density of defects, absorb partially the incident UV light radiation, and exhibit a longer decay time of the photocurrent in vacuum, which proves a spatial charge separation. All these effects may contribute to a low UV light irradiation effect on the ultra-thin film hydrophilicity.     

The structure of Mo/Si multilayers prepared in the conditions of ionic assistance

The influence of a negative substrate-applied bias potential on the structure of periodic Mo/Si multilayer compositions has been investigated by means of cross-sectional electron microscopy, small-angle X-ray reflectivity, X-ray diffraction and by modeling the small-angle spectra. It is known that the crystalline structure of molybdenum layers is the main source of interface roughness. In the absence of a bias potential application, the interface roughness tends to develop from the substrate towards the surface of a Mo/Si multilayer composition. A negative bias potential (up to -200 V) applied to a substrate during silicon layer deposition leads to smoother interfaces and improves the layer morphology. After increasing the bias potential over -200 V a considerable growth of an amorphous interlayer transition zone can be observed at Si-on-Mo interfaces. By raising the bias potential during the deposition of Mo layers a development of roughness at Mo-on-Si interfaces as well as growing interlayer thicknesses were found. PACS 61.10.Kw; 68.37.-d; 68.65.Ac     

Analysis of periodic Mo/Si multilayers: Influence of the Mo thickness

A set of Mo/Si periodic multilayers is studied by non-destructive analysis methods. The thickness of the Si layers is 5 nm while the thickness of the Mo layers changes from one multilayer to another, from 2 to 4 nm. This enables us to probe the effect of the transition between the amorphous and crystalline state of the Mo layers near the interfaces with Si on the optical performances of the multilayers. This transition results in the variation of the refractive index (density variation) of the Mo layers, as observed by X-ray reflectivity (XRR) at a wavelength of 0.154 nm. Combining X-ray emission spectroscopy (XES) and XRR, the parameters (composition, thickness and roughness) of the interfacial layers formed by the interaction between the Mo and Si layers are determined. However, these parameters do not evolve significantly as a function of the Mo thickness. It is observed by diffuse scattering at 1.33 nm that the lateral correlation length of the roughness strongly decreases when the Mo thickness goes from 2 to 3 nm. This is due to the development of Mo crystallites parallel to the multilayer surface.     

不同晶化工艺对非晶PZT纳米薄膜形核取向生长机理的影响

射频磁控溅射法室温下在Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si上制备非晶Pb(Zr048Ti052)O3薄膜，非晶PZT薄膜分别经常规炉退火(CFA)处理和快速热退火(RTA)处理晶化为（100），（111）不同择优取向的多晶薄膜. 采用x射线衍射测定了薄膜相组分、择优取向度；用原子力显微镜和压电响应力显微镜观察了薄膜表面形貌，以及对应区域由自发极化形成的铁电畴像，观察了不同取向薄膜的电畴分布特征. 结果表明，RTA晶化过程钙钛矿结构PZT结晶主要以PZT/Pt界面处的PtPb化合物为成核点异质形核并类似外延的结晶生长，沿界面结晶速率远大于垂直膜面结晶速率，而CFA晶化样品成核发生在膜内杂质缺陷处，以同质成核为主. 不同的成核机理导致了不同晶面择优取向生长. 关键词： PZT薄膜 结晶 形核 力显微技术     

氢化非晶硅叠层薄膜对单晶硅表面钝化研究

采用等离子体增强化学气相沉积法生长的单层本征氢化非晶硅薄膜对单晶硅片进行钝化,结果表明增加氢稀释比有利于减少薄膜中的缺陷,增强钝化效果,过量的氢稀释比会导致非晶硅在硅片表面的外延晶化生长,降低钝化效果。退火导致非晶硅晶化程度增加,降低了钝化效果,同时退火提升了薄膜的质量,改变了H键合方式,增强了钝化效果。因此,单层氢化非晶硅只有在合适的氢稀释比和退火温度才可以获得最佳钝化效果。为了提高非晶硅薄膜对硅片的钝化效果,采用具有高低氢稀释比的叠层本征非晶硅薄膜对硅片进行钝化。因此将高氢稀释比沉积的非晶硅薄膜叠层生长于低氢稀释比的薄膜之上,避免非晶硅在硅片表面的外延生长。在退火过程中,高氢稀释比薄膜中的氢扩散到低氢稀释比薄膜中,有效地钝化了非晶硅中和单晶硅表面的悬挂键,改善了非晶硅/硅片的界面质量,叠层钝化后硅片的少子寿命为7.36 ms,隐含开路电压为732 mV。