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Grain size dependence of the twin length fraction in nanocrystalline Cu thin films via transmission electron microscopy based orientation mapping

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 February 2015

Xuan Liu ,
Noel T. Nuhfer ,
Andrew P. Warren ,
Kevin R. Coffey ,
Gregory S. Rohrer  and
Katayun Barmak
Xuan Liu*
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA
Noel T. Nuhfer
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA
Andrew P. Warren
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida 32816, USA
Kevin R. Coffey
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida 32816, USA
Gregory S. Rohrer
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA
Katayun Barmak*
Affiliation:
Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
*
a)Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) based orientation mapping has been used to measure the length fraction of coherent and incoherent Σ3 grain boundaries in a series of six nanocrystalline Cu thin films with thicknesses in the range of 26–111 nm and grain sizes from 51 to 315 nm. The films were annealed at the same temperature (600 °C) for the same length of time (30 min), have random texture, and vary only in grain size and film thickness. A strong grain size dependence of Σ3 (coherent and incoherent) and coherent Σ3 boundary fraction was observed. The experimental results are quantitatively compared with three physical models for the formation of annealing twins developed for microscale materials. The experimental results for the nanoscale Cu films are found to be in good agreement with the two microscale models that explain twin formation as a growth accident process.

Keywords

transmission electron microscopy (TEM)crystallineCu
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Materials Research , Volume 30 , Issue 4 , 28 February 2015 , pp. 528 - 537
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2015 

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References

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