Nanostructural Analysis of Porous Oblique Angle Deposited (OAD) Multilayer Systems by Grazing‐Incidence Small‐Angle X‐Ray Scattering

Abstract

Additional Information:Question ResponsePlease submit a plain text version of your cover letter here.If you are submitting a revision of your manuscript, please do not overwrite your original cover letter. There is an opportunity for you to provide your responses to the reviewers later; please do not add them here. Dear Editor,Enclosed we are sending to you a conscientiously revised manuscript of the previous "Nanostructural Analysis of Porous Oblique Angle Deposited (OAD) Multilayer Systems by Grazing-Incidence Small-Angle X-Ray Scattering" version. We thank to the reviewers for having found our findings so interesting and useful for the application of GISAXS as characterization technique of multilayer systems to carry out constructive criticisms that improve this work. We have taken into account all the suggestions, tried to clarify the concerns and corrected the mistakes indicated by each one of them. Both in the answer to the referees and the new version of the manuscript we have incorporated new figures and scientific explanations according to the requirements of the reviewers that have improved the quality of the text how the publication in the Advanced Materials Interfaces Journal deserves. We trust that this improved work will can fit now to the demands of this journal and the reviewers and was suitable for publication. Abstract:This work reports a thorough characterization analysis of various porous thin film multilayers by means of Grazing-Incidence Small-Angle X-Ray Scattering (GISAXS). Alternated TiO2/SiO2 nanocolumnar layers deposited at oblique angles were fabricated in slanted, chiral and zig-zag configurations by rotating azimuthally the substrate from one layer to the next. Multilayer systems formed by the stacking of 3 and 15 alternant thin films of these two oxides were morphologically characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and structurally by GISAXS. This technique has provided a means to determine series of vertical and lateral correlation lengths and to assess the anisotropic electron density distribution along the structural elements existing in the multilayers. This information can be systematically used to account for the actual arrangement of nanostructural elements in multilayer systems. AbstractThis work reports a thorough characterization analysis of various porous thin film multilayers by means of Grazing-Incidence Small-Angle X-Ray Scattering (GISAXS). Alternated TiO2/SiO2 nanocolumnar layers deposited at oblique angles were fabricated in slanted, chiral and zig-zag configurations by rotating azimuthally the substrate from one layer to the next. Multilayer systems formed by the stacking of 3 and 15 alternant thin films of these two oxides were morphologically characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and structurally by GISAXS. This technique has provided a means to determine series of vertical and lateral correlation lengths and to assess the anisotropic electron density distribution along the structural elements existing in the multilayers. This information ...

Morphology induced large magnetic anisotropy in obliquely grown nanostructured thin film on nanopatterned substrate

“…It means the formation of a higher electron density distribution of nanocolumnar structure takes place along Co flux arrival direction. Moreover, it is as per the earlier studies for OAD on planner template, where significant shadowing effect is found to be responsible for this asymmetry in the electron density along the azimuthal direction [51]. 43 • , whereas the average separation between nanocolumns is found out to be 12.7 nm.…”

“…The lateral spacing of the nanostructure, as calculated, is found to be 14.8 nm. Observation of the broad peak only along -q y side confirms the formation of inclined columnar nanostructures [49][50][51][52][53]. The angle (β) of tilted columnar morphology with respect to substrate normal is obtained based on the slope of intensity elongation I (Fig.…”

“…In the top view micrograph in Fig. 8a,b, it is possible to appreciate a certain lateral association of nanocolumns a feature that is common in this type of OAD system (guiding eyes lines are added to highlight this nanocolumns association) [51,57]. The characteristics of the surface morphology extracted from the line profile perpendicular to the ripple direction is plotted in Fig.…”