Effect of deposition rate on morphology evolution of metal-on-insulator films grown by pulsed laser deposition

Warrender, Jeffrey M.; Aziz, Michael J.

doi:10.1103/physrevb.76.045414

Cited by 47 publications

(68 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Currently, the most detailed atomistic * kostas.sarakinos@liu.se description of far-from-equilibrium 3D island formation is based on homoepitaxial systems in which 3D islands (mounds) form by deposition onto existing small islands, followed by atomic-step descent limited by the Ehlrich-Schwöbel barrier [15][16][17][18][19]. However, for weakly interacting film/substrate systems-including Ag/SiO 2 [20][21][22][23][24], Pd/TiO 2 [25], Cu/ZnO [26,27], and Dy/graphene [4,28]-3D islands develop before the initially formed one-atom-high islands are large enough to efficiently capture vapor-phase deposition flux. Moreover, 3D island formation is also known to occur in the absence of deposition flux due to surface restructuring via dewetting [29].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Formation and morphological evolution of self-similar 3D nanostructures on weakly interacting substrates

Lü

Almyras

Gervilla

et al. 2018

Phys. Rev. Materials

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Vapor condensation on weakly interacting substrates leads to the formation of three-dimensional (3D) nanoscale islands (i.e., nanostructures). While it is widely accepted that this process is driven by minimization of the total film/substrate surface and interface energy, current film-growth theory cannot fully explain the atomic-scale mechanisms and pathways by which 3D island formation and morphological evolution occurs. Here, we use kinetic Monte Carlo simulations to describe the dynamic evolution of single-island shapes during deposition of Ag on weakly interacting substrates. The results show that 3D island shapes evolve in a self-similar manner, exhibiting a constant height-to-radius aspect ratio, which is a function of the growth temperature. Furthermore, our results reveal the following chain of atomic-scale events that lead to compact 3D island shapes: 3D nuclei are first formed due to facile adatom ascent at single-layer island steps, followed by the development of sidewall facets bounding the islands, which in turn facilitates upward diffusion from the base to the top of the islands. The limiting atomic process which determines the island height, for a given number of deposited atoms, is the temperature-dependent rate at which adatoms cross from sidewall facets to the island top. The overall findings of this study provide insights into the directed growth of metal nanostructures with controlled shapes on weakly interacting substrates, including two-dimensional crystals, for use in catalytic and nanoelectronic applications.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Formation and morphological evolution of self-similar 3D nanostructures on weakly interacting substrates

Lü

Almyras

Gervilla

et al. 2018

Phys. Rev. Materials

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“…[7][8][9][10][11] Depending on the relative rates of island growth and coalescence, two morphological evolution regimes can be established in which merging islands can either fully relax into a compact shape and thereby complete coalescence (coalescence-controlled regime) or not (coalescence-free regime). [12][13][14][15][16] Analytical models and growth simulations [12,13,[17][18][19] have shown that in these two regimes the scaling laws under a continuous deposition flux read, [6,12,13] ≈ (1.75…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Scaling of elongation transition thickness during thin-film growth on weakly interacting substrates

Lü

Souqui

Elofsson

et al. 2017

Applied Physics Letters

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The elongation transition thickness (hElong) is a central concept in the theoretical description of thin-film growth dynamics on weakly interacting substrates via scaling relations of hElong with respect to rates of key atomistic film-forming processes. To date, these scaling laws have only been confirmed quantitatively by simulations, while experimental proof has been left ambiguous as it has not been possible to measure hElong. Here, we present a method for determining experimentally hElong for Ag films growing on amorphous SiO2: an archetypical weakly interacting film/substrate system. Our results confirm the theoretically predicted hElong scaling behavior, which then allow us to calculate the rates of adatom diffusion and island coalescence completion, in good agreement with the literature. The methodology presented herein casts the foundation for studying growth dynamics and cataloging atomistic-process rates for a wide range of weakly interacting film/substrate systems. This may provide insights into directed growth of metal films with a well-controlled morphology and interfacial structure on 2D crystals-including graphene and MoS2-for catalytic and nanoelectronic applications. Published by AIP Publishing.

Funding Agencies|Linkoping University (LiU) [Dnr-LiU-2015-01510]; Swedish research council [VR-2011-5312, VR-2015-04630]; Swedish National Infrastructure for Computing (SNIC) at the National Supercomputer Centre (NSC)

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“…Warrender and Aziz's model [15,16] concerning the growth of metal-on-insulator thin films: at the beginning of the deposition thin films typically grow according to the Volmer-Weber mode, in which atoms grow in three-dimensional islands on the surface [17,18]. As the islands grow larger, they start to impinge each other driven by capillarity forces inducing the formation of clusters.…”

Section: -D) This Behaviour Is In Accordance Withmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterisation of Pb thin films prepared by the nanosecond pulsed laser deposition technique for photocathode application

Lorusso¹,

Gontad²,

Broitman³

et al. 2015

Thin Solid Films

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Pb thin films were prepared by the ns pulsed laser deposition technique on Si (100) and polycrystalline Nb substrates for photocathode application. As the photoemission performances of a cathode are strongly affected by its surface characteristics, the Pb films were grown at different substrate temperatures with the aim of modifying the morphology and structure of thin films. Atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy analyses showed a strong morphological change in the deposited films with the substrate temperature, and the formation of spherical grains at higher temperatures with the nucleation of large voids on the film surface. X-ray diffraction measurements showed that a preferred orientation of Pb (111)

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Effect of deposition rate on morphology evolution of metal-on-insulator films grown by pulsed laser deposition

Cited by 47 publications

References 24 publications

Formation and morphological evolution of self-similar 3D nanostructures on weakly interacting substrates

Formation and morphological evolution of self-similar 3D nanostructures on weakly interacting substrates

Scaling of elongation transition thickness during thin-film growth on weakly interacting substrates

Characterisation of Pb thin films prepared by the nanosecond pulsed laser deposition technique for photocathode application

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