The dynamic competition between stress generation and relaxation mechanisms during coalescence of Volmer–Weber thin films

Floro, J. A.; Hearne, Sean J.; Hunter, John; Kotula, Paul Gabriel; Chason, E.; Seel, Steven C.; Thompson, Carl V.

doi:10.1063/1.1352563

Cited by 343 publications

(231 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…When depositing Fe on top of MgO, first compressive stress is observed, which then tends to tensile stress and again to compressive stress. The compressive-to-tensile transition is a clear indication for island growth in these laser deposited multilayers [15,16], as expected from the differences in the surface energies of Fe and MgO, and for instance also observed in evaporated films by Floro et al [17]. The complex behavior of the stress thickness curve can be explained as follows.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 68%

Minimization of interface roughness in laser deposited Fe/MgO multilayers

Meschede

Krebs

2010

Appl. Phys. A

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The physical properties of multilayers with layer periods in the nanometer range crucially depend on the nature of their interfaces. In this contribution we show how the interfacial roughness of multilayers consisting of two materials with a high difference in specific surface free energy (here MgO/Fe) and thus different growth modes (VolmerWeber island growth for Fe and layer-by-layer growth for MgO) can be minimized. For this, the layer thickness of the island former has to be large enough that almost all island zipping processes have already occurred. At this thickness the layer is just closed and the intrinsic roughness is at a minimal value. To determine this optimal thickness, insitu stress measurements as performed in this work are one method of choice. The layer-by-layer growth of the other material with lower surface free energy additionally leads to a further smoothening of the surface. Due to this alternating roughening and smoothing processes, cumulative roughness can be avoided and overall a minimal roughness of the multilayer structure is obtained.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 68%

Minimization of interface roughness in laser deposited Fe/MgO multilayers

Meschede

Krebs

2010

Appl. Phys. A

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“…During the deposition of polycrystalline metal thin films grown according to the Volmer-Weber mode (VW), the evolution of the growth stress (which has its origin in the interaction between grains) exhibits several transitions (compressive → tensile → compressive) as the film thickness increases 1 or the grain size raises for postdeposition annealing. 1,2 These transitions have been correlated with the inherent stages to VW-type growth: (i) Nucleation and grain growth, (ii) grain coalescence and percolation, and (iii) closure and film growth.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1,2 These transitions have been correlated with the inherent stages to VW-type growth: (i) Nucleation and grain growth, (ii) grain coalescence and percolation, and (iii) closure and film growth. It is widely admitted that during stages (i) and (ii) the surface tension and the cohesive forces between close grains generate compressive and tensile stresses, respectively, with significant changes in the film morphology.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Morphology evolution of thermally annealed polycrystalline thin films

et al. 2011

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Investigation of the morphology evolution of annealed polycrystalline Au(111) films by atomic force microscopy and x-ray diffraction leads to a continuous model that correlates such an evolution to local interactions between grains triggering different mechanisms of stress accommodation (grain zipping and shear strain) and relaxation (gap filling and grain rotation). The model takes into consideration findings concerning the in-plane reorientation of the grains during the coalescence to provide a comprehensive picture of the grain-size dependence of the interactions (underlying the origin of the growth stress in polycrystalline systems); and in particular it sheds light on the postcoalescence compressive stress as a consequence of the kinetic limitations for the reorientation of larger surface structures.

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“…As the thickness is increased to 290 nm the average peak-to-trough remains relatively low at ~ 50 nm with a mono-modal height distribution. This suggests that the Volmer-Weber [22] growth mechanism is occurring at the lower thicknesses, resulting in island formation.…”

Section: Growth Mechanismmentioning

confidence: 96%

Microstructure development of BiFeO3–PbTiO3 films deposited by pulsed laser deposition on platinum substrates

2014

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BiFeO 3 -PbTiO 3 films around the morphotropic phase boundary were deposited by pulsed laser deposition on polycrystalline Pt/TiO x /SiO 2 /Si substrates. X-ray analysis confirms that 0.6BiFeO 3 -0.4PbTiO 3 films are (001) tetragonal preferentially orientated due to lattice matching with the underlying substrate.The misfit strain at the substrate -film interface is relieved by a ~19% orientation transformation from (001) to (100) due to the difference in lattice mismatch at the substrate-film interface and thermal expansion coefficients of the substrate and deposited film. 0.7BiFeO 3 -0.3PbTiO 3 films are mixed phase rhombohedral-tetragonal with (001) / (111) preferential orientated due to the lattice match to the (111) and (100) of the underlying platinum as well as being close to the morphotropic phase boundary. Inconsistent structural and electrical properties in reported BiFeO 3 -PbTiO 3 films are explained in terms of film morphology and diffusion of bismuth into platinum. Films below ~220 nm thickness produce short circuits due to a Volmer-Weber growth mechanism which results in physical defects within the films. Films above this critical thickness also produce variable electrical properties due to diffusion of bismuth into the underlying platinum electrode which has been confirmed by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy.

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The dynamic competition between stress generation and relaxation mechanisms during coalescence of Volmer–Weber thin films

Cited by 343 publications

References 37 publications

Minimization of interface roughness in laser deposited Fe/MgO multilayers

Minimization of interface roughness in laser deposited Fe/MgO multilayers

Morphology evolution of thermally annealed polycrystalline thin films

Microstructure development of BiFeO3–PbTiO3 films deposited by pulsed laser deposition on platinum substrates

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