Growth mechanism and electrical properties of metallic films deposited on silicone oil surfaces

Abstract

Influences of rapid annealing and substrate temperature on the magnetic properties of Co-Fe-V films J. Appl. Phys. 99, 08F105 (2006); 10.1063/1.2165590 Microstructural comparisons of ultrathin Cu films deposited by ion-beam and dc-magnetron sputtering J. Appl. Phys. 97, 093301 (2005); 10.1063/1.1886275 Electrical and microstructural characterization of molybdenum tungsten electrodes using a combinatorial thin film sputtering technique J. Appl. Phys. 97, 054906 (2005); 10.1063/1.1855395 Phase transformation of tungsten films deposited by diode and inductively coupled plasma magnetron sputteringThe microstructure and the growth mechanism of the films, which were deposited on silicone oil surfaces by the rf-magnetron sputtering method, were studied systematically. It is found that, at the fixed incident rf capacity, the growth rate is not a constant and it depends on both the nominal film thickness and the substrate temperature. The film structure at the micrometer scale is highly sensitive to the substrate temperature. The dc resistance of the film increases with the increase of time, indicating that the behavior of the defects in the film is much different from that of the film deposited on a solid substrate. The effects of the liquid substrate are also discussed.

Plasma Processing of Low Vapor Pressure Liquids to Generate Functional Surfaces

“…Based on these ideas, we subsequently present our novel approach for the plasma processing of liquids allowing not only the formation but simultaneous functionalization of thin films on liquid substrates. The first attempt to coat liquids was made by Ye et al, who successfully deposited continuous metallic films on silicone oil by RF magnetron sputtering and investigated the nucleation and growth mechanisms taking place during film formation [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. Other groups followed this approach using different kinds of liquid substrate materials, such as silicone oils, ionic liquids and vegetable oils, to synthesize metal films and nanoparticles made of gold, silver, titanium, aluminum, iron, nickel and copper via sputtering and thermal evaporation processes [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 ].…”

“…Besides, the growth of crystals from different aromatic hydrocarbons, zinc, copper and gold on silicone oil and ionic liquids by vapor phase deposition was studied [ 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 ]. It is unanimously reported that a multi-step formation mechanism occurs when depositing metals on liquids [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 13 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 21 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 ]. First, nucleation and growth of smaller clusters can be observed.…”

“…Those clusters freely float on the liquid’s surface and gradually form bigger aggregates. Finally, closed, free standing films are obtained which feature characteristic, regular microstructures or cracks which exhibit surprising similarities for the examined materials [ 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 27 ]. Internal film stress is discussed as the main reason for the appearance of microstructures, wrinkles and cracks [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 27 ].…”

Sputtering onto liquids: a critical review

“…In the case of SoL, most of the works were carried out in DC mode. RF power supplies were used for the production of Au [167], Pt [168], and Pt/Ni [169] NPs and Ag films [170][171][172].…”

Growth Mechanism and Microstructure of Al Films Deposited on Ionic Liquid Surfaces

“…[4][5][6][7][8] The experiments show that the films deposited on the liquid substrates may exhibit characteristic surface morphologies and plentiful physical properties. 5,6,[9][10][11] All the anomalous properties of these free sustained films are closely related to liquid substrates surfaces, because the surface types define the physical properties of objects including internal stress, interaction among the atoms, friction, collision and so on. 5,12,13) Ionic liquids are known as a salt in the liquid state.…”