Reversible Stress Evolution During the Growth of Polycrystalline and Epitaxial Transition Metal Films
Abstract
Stress evolution during the intermittent growth of Volmer-Weber Cu thin films and homoepitaxial growth of (111)-oriented Cu and Ag thin films has been studied. In all systems a tensile stress change is observed when growth is stopped, but the change is reversed when growth is resumed. In addition to direct experimental evidence, thermodynamic and kinetic arguments are employed to show that the reversible stress phenomenology is due to the entire ensemble of surface defects evolving during the growth process. In the earliest stages of growth a direct correlation is made between the stress evolution and an increase in the adatom population. At longer timescales, when a more complex set of defects are expected, reflection high energy electron diffraction analysis of the atomic scale surface roughness is used to explain the stress evolution phenomenology. These observations are correlated to stress evolution in nanometer scale thin film islands to demonstrate the importance of surface defect densities on stress in nanostructures.
- Publication:
-
APS March Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- March 2004
- Bibcode:
- 2004APS..MARB32008F