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Stress Evolution Kinetics in Ultra Thin Sputtered Au Films

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 February 2011

Quanmin Su
Affiliation:
Dept. of Matls and Nucl. Eng., Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742–2115
Cecile Bailly
Affiliation:
Dept. of Matls and Nucl. Eng., Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742–2115 Stagiére de l’Ecole Nationale Superieure des Techniques Industrielles et des Mines d’Ales, France
Manfred Wuttig
Affiliation:
Dept. of Matls and Nucl. Eng., Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742–2115
Sean Corcoran
Affiliation:
Dept. of Matls and Nucl. Eng., Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742–2115 Code 6170, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington DC 20375–5342
Karl Sieradzki
Affiliation:
Dept. of Matls and Nucl. Eng., Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742–2115 Dept. of Mech. and Aerospace Eng., Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287–6106
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Abstract

The stress and microstructure of a thin film evolve in time if the deposition is interrupted or terminated. To establish the parameters which control the kinetics of both processes, ultra thin Au layers were sputter deposited on Si membranes and the stress evolution was monitored by a vibrating membrane technique. The evolution of the surface morphology was studied by scanning tunnelling microscopy. Aging after the termination of each deposition causes stress evolution towards higher tension which, around ambient temperature, follows an exponential law with a characteristic relaxation time of the order of tenths of seconds. This time was found to depend strongly on the accumulated film thickness as well as the surface morphology. The intrinsic stress of the depositing layer increases with the coverage of the film on the substrate. Scanning Tunnelling Microscopy shows that the film grows in a Volmer-Weber mode and that the average stress reaches a sharp maximum as the film become continuous.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1995

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