Viktor Elofsson

Tilt of the columnar microstructure in off-normally deposited thin films using highly ionized vapor fluxes

The tilt of the columnar microstructure has been studied for Cu and Cr thin films grown off-normally using highly ionized vapor fluxes, generated by the deposition technique high power impulse magnetron sputtering. It is found that the relatively large column tilt (with respect to the substrate normal) observed for Cu films decreases as the ionization degree of the deposition flux increases. On the contrary, Cr columns are found to grow relatively close to the substrate normal and the column tilt is independent from the ionization degree of the vapor flux when films are deposited at room temperature. The Cr column tilt is only found to be influenced by the ionized fluxes when films are grown at elevated temperatures, suggesting that film morphology during the film nucleation stage is also important in affecting column tilt. A phenomenological model that accounts for the effect of atomic shadowing at different nucleation conditions is suggested to explain the results.

Unravelling the physical mechanisms that determine microstructural evolution of ultrathin Volmer-Weber films

The initial formation stages (i.e., island nucleation, island growth, and island coalescence) set characteristic length scales during growth of thin films from the vapour phase. They are, thus, dec ...

Dynamic competition between island growth and coalescence in metal-on-insulator deposition

The morphology of thin metal films and nanostructures synthesized from the vapor phase on insulating substrates is strongly influenced by the coalescence of islands. Here, we derive analytically the quantitative criterion for coalescence suppression by combining atomistic nucleation theory and a classical model of coalescence. Growth simulations show that using this criterion, a coalescence-free growth regime can be reached in which morphological evolution is solely determined by island nucleation, growth, and impingement. Experimental validation for the ability to control the rate of coalescence using this criterion and navigate between different growth regimes is provided by in situ monitoring of Ag deposition on SiO2. Our findings pave the way for creating thin films and nanostructures that exhibit a wide range of morphologies and physical attributes in a knowledge-based manner.

Time-domain and energetic bombardment effects on the nucleation and coalescence of thin metal films on amorphous substrates

Pulsed, ionized vapour fluxes, generated from high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) discharges, are employed to study the effects of time-domain and energetic bombardment on the nucleati ...

Scaling of elongation transition thickness during thin-film growth on weakly interacting substrates

The elongation transition thickness (hElong) is a central concept in the theoretical description of thin-film growth dynamics on weakly interacting substrates via scaling relations of hElong with r ...

Theoretical and experimental study of metastable solid solutions and phase stability within the immiscible Ag-Mo binary system

Metastable solid solutions are phases that are synthesized far from thermodynamic equilibrium and offer a versatile route to design materials with tailor-made functionalities. One of the most investigated classes of metastable solid solutions with widespread technological implications is vapor deposited ternary transition metal ceramic thin films (i.e., nitrides, carbides, and borides). The vapor-based synthesis of these ceramic phases involves complex and difficult to control chemical interactions of the vapor species with the growing film surface, which often makes the fundamental understanding of the composition-properties relations a challenging task. Hence, in the present study, we investigate the phase stability within an immiscible binary thin film system that offers a simpler synthesis chemistry, i.e., the Ag-Mo system. We employ magnetron co-sputtering to grow Ag1−xMox thin films over the entire composition range along with x-ray probes to investigate the films structure and bonding properties. C...

Structure formation in Ag-X (X = Au, Cu) alloys synthesized far-from-equilibrium

We employ sub-monolayer, pulsed Ag and Au vapor fluxes, along with deterministic growth simulations, and nanoscale probes to study structure formation in miscible Ag-Au films synthesized under far-from-equilibrium conditions. Our results show that nanoscale atomic arrangement is primarily determined by roughness build up at the film growth front, whereby larger roughness leads to increased intermixing between Ag and Au. These findings suggest a different structure formation pathway as compared to the immiscible Ag-Cu system for which the present study, in combination with previously published data, reveals that no significant roughness is developed, and the local atomic structure is predominantly determined by the tendency of Ag and Cu to phase-separate.

Double in-plane alignment in biaxially textured thin films

The scientific interest and technological relevance of biaxially textured polycrystalline thin films stem from their microstructure that resembles that of single crystals. To explain the origin and predict the type of biaxial texture in off-normally deposited films, Mahieu et al. have developed an analytical model [S. Mahieu et al., Thin Solid Films 515, 1229 (2006)]. For certain materials, this model predicts the occurrence of a double in-plane alignment, however, experimentally only a single in-plane alignment has been observed and the reason for this discrepancy is still unknown. The model calculates the resulting in-plane alignment by considering the growth of faceted grains with an out-of-plane orientation that corresponds to the predominant film out-of-plane texture. This approach overlooks the fact that in vapor condensation experiments where growth kinetics is limited and only surface diffusion is active, out-of-plane orientation selection is random during grain nucleation and happens only upon grain impingement. Here, we compile and implement an experiment that is consistent with the key assumptions set forth by the in-plane orientation selection model by Mahieu et al.; a Cr film is grown off-normally on a fiber textured Ti epilayer to pre-determine the out-of-plane orientation and only allow for competitive growth with respect to the in-plane alignment. Our results show unambiguously a biaxially textured Cr (110) film that possesses a double in-plane alignment, in agreement with predictions of the in-plane selection model. Thus, a long standing discrepancy in the literature is resolved, paving the way towards more accurate theoretical descriptions and hence knowledge-based control of microstructure evolution in biaxially textured thin films.