Effects of high-flux low-energy ion bombardment on the low-temperature growth morphology of TiN(001) epitaxial layers
| Autor: | Ivan Petrov, Joseph E Greene, David G. Cahill, Brian W. Karr |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2000 |
| Předmět: | |
| Zdroj: | Physical Review B. 61:16137-16143 |
| ISSN: | 1095-3795 0163-1829 |
| DOI: | 10.1103/physrevb.61.16137 |
| Popis: | Ultrahigh vacuum scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) is used to characterize the surface morphology of TiN(001) epitaxial layers grown by dc reactive magnetron sputtering at growth temperatures of T{sub s}=650 and T{sub s}=750 degree sign C. An auxiliary anode is used to bias the N{sub 2} plasma and produce a large flux of low-energy N{sub 2}{sup +} ions that bombard the film surface during growth: the ratio of the N{sub 2}{sup +} flux to the Ti growth flux is {approx_equal}25. At ion energies E{sub i} near the threshold for the production of bulk defects (E{sub i}=43 eV and T{sub s}=650 degree sign C), ion bombardment decreases the amplitude of the roughness, decreases the average distance between growth mounds, and reduces the sharpness of grooves between growth mounds. The critical island radius for second layer nucleation R{sub c} is approximately 12 and 17 nm at growth temperatures of 650 and 750 degree sign C respectively; at 650 degree sign C, R{sub c} is reduced to (approx =)10 nm by ion bombardment. (c) 2000 The American Physical Society. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
|