Influence of deposition rate and time on nucleation of Er on a-C

Abstract

Nucleation kinetics of UHV deposited erbium on amorphous carbon at room temperature and for atom arrival rates of 1.5 × 10 13 -1.8 × 10 14 atoms/cm 2 s is studied. For all deposition rates, the density of nuclei increased with time to a saturation value and remained stationary. It was found that the nucleation rate is linearly dependent on the deposition rate, indicating that a single-adatom constitutes a stable nucleus. At lower deposition rates (up to R = 1 × 10 14 atom/cm 2 s), the saturation density is constant and independent of R but at higher rates it increases with R according to the mathematical function n s = a + b exp(R/c). It is shown that the nucleation theory usually used to explain the experimental work needs some revision. For measured condensation coefficients, the diffusion length of adatoms x s = (1.53 ± 0.01) nm, and the difference between adsorption and surface diffusion energies, E a − E sd = (0.12 ± 0.01) eV are estimated.

A comparison of different methods for x-ray diffraction line broadening analysis of Ti and Ag UHV deposited thin films: nanostructural dependence on substrate temperature and film thickness

“…It is known that the nanostructure of thin films is strongly affected by the procedure used to prepare them and the deposition conditions. For example, the substrate temperature [14][15][16], angle of incidence [17][18][19], deposition rate [20,21], and film thickness [22] have important effects on the morphology and nanostructure of thin films.…”

Influence of film thickness, substrate temperature and nano-structural changes on the optical properties of UHV deposited Ti thin films

“…Using equation ( 2) in which ε are the values for bulk metal [27], the fraction of voids for Ti films was obtained by least square fit to equation (2). With regard to void fraction calculation, usually an overlayer composed of oxide and surface micro-roughness is also considered.…”