Perspectives on oblique angle deposition of thin films: From fundamentals to devices

Abstract

a b s t r a c tThe oblique angle configuration has emerged as an invaluable tool for the deposition of nanostructured thin films. This review develops an up to date description of its principles, including the atomistic mechanisms governing film growth and nanostructuration possibilities, as well as a comprehensive description of the applications benefiting from its incorporation in actual devices. In contrast with other reviews on the subject, the electron beam assisted evaporation technique is analyzed along with other methods operating at oblique angles, including, among others, magnetron sputtering and pulsed laser or ion beam-assisted deposition techniques. To account for the existing differences between deposition in vacuum or in the presence of a plasma, mechanistic simulations are critically revised, discussing well-established paradigms such as the tangent or cosine rules, and proposing new models that explain the growth of tilted porous nanostructures. In the second part, we present an extensive description of applications wherein oblique-angle-deposited thin films are of relevance. From there, we proceed by considering the requirements of a large number of functional devices in which these films are currently being utilized (e.g., solar cells, Li batteries, electrochromic glasses, biomaterials, sensors, etc.), and subsequently describe how and why these nanostructured materials meet with these needs.

Advance Deposition Techniques for Thin Film and Coating

“…Large categories of materials can be prepared by electron beam evaporation technique [11] such as amorphous and crystalline semiconductors [12], metals [13], oxides [14], and molecular materials [15].…”

“…Sputtering technique is mostly used for depositing metal and oxide films by controlling the crystalline structure and surface roughness [11,25]. The simple form of the sputtering system consists of an evacuated chamber containing metallic anode and cathode [25] in order to obtain a glow discharge in the residual gas in the chamber.…”

Design and Improvement of Devices for Preparing Film Materials

“…In recent years, the study on functional thin film materials has become a hot topic [1][2][3][4], especially in the aspect of thin film photovoltaic materials [5][6]. The related preparation equipments and methods are very expensive [7][8], it is the obstacle to develop these functional film materials.…”

Micromagnetic Simulation of Magnetization Reversal Processes in Thin Obliquely Deposited Films

“…Oblique deposition is a well-known method that allows for fabrication of thin films with complex non-uniform columnar morphology that is governed by the competition between geometrical shadowing and limited diffusion processes [1]. In the case of magnetic materials, this columnar microstructure leads to the modification of magnetic properties of the resulting films.…”