X-ray reflectivity study of gold films during sputter-deposition

Abstract

May 1994Submitted to Physical Review B Ism 1-2. 4.M We performed in-situ x-ray reflectivity measurements of gold films during sputter-deposition on polished silicon substrates. T h e measurements were performed at several substrate temperatures and under two argon pressures.The gold surfaces were also examined by scanning tunneling microscopy after deposition to obtain their real-space topographic images. These images were used to complement tlie s-ray reflectivity measurements in determining the effect of argon pressure on tlie gold surface and its height-height differencefunctions. An approximation for height-height difference functions was cnipioycd to analyze the x-ray rcflcctivity data. The nieasureti intcrfacc widt 11 during growtli follows a siinplc po\vcr-la\v behavior consistcnt witli rccciitly developed dynamic scaling behavior. The scaling exponents, however, do not agree well with predictions based on some models in 2 + 1 dimensions.

Ultra-thin films for plasmonics: a technology overview

“…The accent was put on in situ measurements that can allow for better characterization of the growth dynamics on Au layers. X-ray reflectivity and scanning tunnelling microscopy are the ones mainly used [40,41] but in situ Auger electron spectroscopy [42] and ex situ pull testing [43] were also reported among others.…”