| Abstrakt: |
Gold layers on corundum, a-Al2O3, substrates, with intermediate sputtered copper and chromium layers, are used for microwave integrated circuit applications. The existance of “islands” of monocrystalline Au and Cu in otherwise polycrystalline material has been verified using X-ray and electron diffraction techniques. In these monocrystalline regions, a discrete Cr layer, under the Au and Cu layers, is no longer present. Investigations on specially prepared samples established the monocrystalline Cu to be a twinned epitaxic layer with (111)Cu//(0001)a-Al2O3; [¯1¯12] Cu//[2¯1¯10]a-Al2O3. In a sample consisting of a single Cr layer on a-Al2O3, the Cr was found to be epitaxic with (110) Cr//(0001)a-Al2O3. Epitaxic “islands” are detrimental to device performance, and their formation has been suppressed by reducing the sputtering power density. |
Full text from SpringerLink