Time-domain and energetic bombardment effects on the nucleation and coalescence of thin metal films on amorphous substrates

Magnfält, Daniel; Elofsson, Viktor; Abadias, G.; Helmersson, Ulf; Sarakinos, Kostas

doi:10.1088/0022-3727/46/21/215303

Cited by 23 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 43 publications

(54 reference statements)

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“…This growth stress is relaxed upon growth interruption due to outdiffusion of atoms from the grain boundaries while grain growth, which leads to tensile stress, takes place leading to essentially stress free films. 39,40,41 Backscattered Ar + ions may also contribute to compressive stress generation in Ag films. Given the similar masses of Ag and Mo, the energy and flux of backscattered Ar species is expected to be similar resulting in a similar hydrostatic stress contribution for all films.…”

Section: Film Characterizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…42 This is consistent with the notion of limited atomic mobility encountered during the growth of refractory metals close-to-room temperature as previously discussed. 3,36,37 With increasing Ag content in the films the effective mobility of film forming species increases (as Ag exhibits higher atomic mobility than Mo at room temperature) 37,39,40 resulting in a denser microstructure which is less prone to impurity incorporation. The incorporation of O and C species in the Morich grains is excluded due to the lack of oxide or carbide signature in the corresponding Mo 3d XPS spectra (not shown here).…”

Section: Film Characterizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Theoretical and experimental study of metastable solid solutions and phase stability within the immiscible Ag-Mo binary system

Sarakinos

Greczyński

Elofsson

et al. 2016

Journal of Applied Physics

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Section: Film Characterizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Film Characterizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Theoretical and experimental study of metastable solid solutions and phase stability within the immiscible Ag-Mo binary system

Sarakinos

Greczyński

Elofsson

et al. 2016

Journal of Applied Physics

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“…As a case study we grow Ag on SiO 2 using the pulsed vapor fluxes generated by Magnfält et al 17 . The growth evolution is then systematically studied all the way from nucleation to the formation of a continuous film by combining in situ growth monitoring, ex situ imaging and growth simulations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unravelling the physical mechanisms that determine microstructural evolution of ultrathin Volmer-Weber films

Elofsson

Lü

Magnfält

et al. 2014

Journal of Applied Physics

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The initial formation stages (i.e., island nucleation, island growth, and island coalescence) set characteristic length scales during growth of thin films from the vapor phase. They are, thus, decisive for morphological and microstructural features of films and nanostructures. Each of the initial formation stages has previously been wellinvestigated separately for the case of Volmer-Weber growth, but knowledge on how and to what extent each stage individually and all together affect the microstructural evolution is still lacking. Here we address this question using growth of Ag on SiO 2 from pulsed vapor fluxes as a case study. By combining in situ growth monitoring, ex situ imaging and growth simulations we systematically study the growth evolution all the way from nucleation to formation of a continuous film and establish the effect of the vapor flux time domain on the scaling behaviour of characteristic growth transitions (elongation transition, percolation and continuous film formation). Our data reveal a pulsing frequency dependence for the characteristic film growth transitions, where the nominal transition thickness decreases with increasing pulsing frequency up to a certain value after which a steady-state behaviour is observed. The scaling behaviour is shown to result from differences in island sizes and densities, as dictated by the initial film formation stages. These differences are determined solely by the interplay between the characteristics of the vapor flux and time required for island coalescence to be completed. In particular, our data provide evidence that the steady-state scaling regime of the characteristic growth transitions is caused by island growth that hinders coalescence from being completed.

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“…In this way, different processes are affected independently and in different ways by vapor flux arrival and addition of material. [12][13][14][15][16] To this end, further understanding of the effects of pulsed vapor deposition sources (specifically, pulsed magnetron sputtering) is another primary focus of this work, hence a pulsed vapor source was used in the growth experiments and modeled in the kMC simulations as well. However, additional experiments and simulations of continuous vapor sources were also performed and investigated in order to differentiate the effects of pulsing on film growth from average deposition rate effects.…”

Section: Many Of the Different Growth Processes In The Early And Intementioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamics of the Early Stages in Metal-on-Insulator Thin Film Deposition

Lü¹

2014

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Thin films consist of nanoscale layers of material that are used in many technological applications to either functionalize a surface or serve as parts in miniaturized devices. The properties of a film are closely related to its microstructure, which in turn can be tuned during film preparation. Thin film growth involves a multitude of atomic-scale processes that cannot always be easily studied experimentally. Therefore, different types of computer simulations have been developed in order to test theoretical models of thin film growth in a highly controlled way. To be able to compare simulation and experimental results, the simulations must be able to model events on experimental time-scales, i.e. several seconds or minutes. This is achievable with the kinetic Monte Carlo method.In this work, kinetic Monte Carlo simulations are used to model the initial growth stages of metal films on insulating, amorphous substrates. This includes the processes of island nucleation, three-dimensional island growth and island coalescence. Both continuous and pulsed vapor fluxes are investigated as deposition sources, and relations between deposition parameters and film morphology are formulated. Specifically, the film thickness at what is known as the "elongation transition" is studied as a function of the temporal profile of the vapor flux, adatom diffusivity and the coalescence rate. Since the elongation transition occurs due to hindrance of coalescence completion, two separate scaling behaviors of the elongation transition film thickness are found: one where coalescence occurs frequently and one where coalescence occurs infrequently. In the latter case, known nucleation behaviors can be used favorably to control the morphology of thin films, as these behaviors are not erased by island coalescence. Experimental results of Ag growth on amorphous SiO 2 that confirm the existence of these two "growth regimes" are also presented for both pulsed and continuous deposition by magnetron sputtering. Knowledge of how to avoid coalescence for different deposition conditions allows nucleation for metal-on-insulator material systems to be studied and relevant physical quantities to be determined in a way not previously possible. This work also aids understanding of the growth evolution of polycrystalline films, which in conjunction with advanced deposition techniques allows thin films to be tailored to specific applications.ii iii PREFACE

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Time-domain and energetic bombardment effects on the nucleation and coalescence of thin metal films on amorphous substrates

Cited by 23 publications

References 43 publications

Theoretical and experimental study of metastable solid solutions and phase stability within the immiscible Ag-Mo binary system

Theoretical and experimental study of metastable solid solutions and phase stability within the immiscible Ag-Mo binary system

Unravelling the physical mechanisms that determine microstructural evolution of ultrathin Volmer-Weber films

Dynamics of the Early Stages in Metal-on-Insulator Thin Film Deposition

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