Microstructural and conductivity comparison of Ag films grown on amorphous TiO2 and polycrystalline ZnO

Abstract

8 nm thick Ag films were sputter deposited onto amorphous TiO 2 underlayers 25 nm thick, and also amorphous TiO 2 (25 nm)/ZnO (5 nm) multiunderlayers. The substrates were back-etched Si with a 50 nm thick LPCVD Si 3 N 4 electron transparent membrane. The ZnO, sputtered onto amorphous TiO 2 , formed a continuous layer with a grain size of 5 nm in diameter, on the order of the film thickness. There are several microstructural differences in the Ag dependent on the underlayers, revealed by TEM. First a strong {0001} ZnO to {111} Ag fibre-texture relationship exists. On TiO 2 the Ag microstructure shows many abnormal grains whose average diameter is about 60-80 nm, whereas the films on ZnO show few abnormal grains. The background matrix of normal grains on the TiO 2 is roughly 15 nm, while the normal grain size on the ZnO is about 25 nm. Electron diffraction patterns show that the film on ZnO has a strong {111}

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