Microstructural Evolution of AI/Ni and Ni/AI Bilayer Thin Films

1990 ◽  
Vol 202 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. Barnard ◽  
E. Haftek ◽  
A. Waknis ◽  
M. Tan

ABSTRACTThe growth and microstructural evolution of Al/Ni and Ni/AI bilayer thin films have been investigated as a function of Al and Ni layer thickness and thermal treatment by transmission electron microscopy. Studies were also made of Al and Ni single layers of varying thickness. All films were grown by dc magnetron sputtering using carbon coated Cu TEM grids as substrates. For the bilayers, the Al thickness was fixed at either 3.5 or 7.0 nm while the Ni thickness was varied systematically from 3.2 to 12.8 nm. Deposition sequence significantly influenced bilayer microstructure even in as-deposited samples. Al/Ni bilayers generally exhibited a finer microstructure than Ni/AI. In the 3.5 nm Al/Ni bilayers no conclusive electron diffraction evidence was found for elemental Al while for the reverse sequence both Al and NiAl3 diffraction rings were found. In the 7.0 nm Al/Ni bilayers diffraction rings due to Al were observed. The reverse sequence again produced both Al and NiAl3 diffraction rings. Interestingly, diffraction rings due to the Ni layers were found for all samples but were consistently measured at positions corresponding to a 2.5–3.5% increase in interplanar spacing. Annealing at 385°C produced evidence for generalized grain growth and strong accentuation of the electron diffraction rings due to the NiAl3 phase. Again, deposition significantly influenced annealed bilayer microstructure. For the Al/Ni sequence annealing produced polycrystalline N1AI3 island-like structures, while for Ni/AI bilayers, annealing promoted the growth of small NiAl3 crystals uniformly distributed in the film.

1999 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 2012-2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Seifert ◽  
Laurent Sagalowicz ◽  
Paul Muralt ◽  
Nava Setter

Pb1−xCaxTiO3 thin films with x = 0−0.3 for pyroelectric applications were deposited on platinized silicon wafers by chemical solution processing. Ca-substitution for Pb in PbTiO3 results in a reduced c/a ratio of the unit cell, which, in turn, leads to better pyroelectric properties. Control of nucleation and growth during rapid thermal annealing to 650 °C allowed the formation of either highly porous or dense (111) oriented films. The inclusion of pores creates a matrix-void composite with the low permittivity desired for pyroelectric applications, resulting in a high figure of merit. The growth mechanisms for the microstructural evolution of both dense and porous films were analyzed by x-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry and allowed establishment of microstructure/property relationships.


2016 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erwin Amiruddin

<p>Alloys of cobalt samarium (Co-Sm) in the form of thin films were fabricated using dc magnetron sputtering technique. The films were fabricated as a function of samarium concentration ranging from 0 to 28 at.% in order to investigate the relationship between microstructure, coercivity and magnetic domain structure. Magnetic domain structures in the films have been studied by Lorentz microscopy using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). In this technique, the TEM was operated in the defocused mode. The results show that the magnetic image of Co<sub>90</sub>Sm<sub>10 </sub>film has fairly coarse structure with magnetization ripple and the domains ranging over 200-300 nm. The domain size is much larger than the grain size of Co<sub>90</sub>Sm<sub>10</sub> film. The “multiparticle” or interaction domains suggested that there is strong exchange coupling between the magnetization of the neighbouring grains inside each of them. The hysteresis loop for this film shows a small coercivity with high magnetization value and high loop squareness, indicating a greater proportion of magnetic material. </p>


1991 ◽  
Vol 238 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Haftek ◽  
M. Tan ◽  
A. Waknis ◽  
J. A. Barnard

ABSTRACTThe growth and microstructural evolution of sputtered Ti/Ni and Ni/Ti bilayer thin films have been investigated as a function of Ti and Ni layer thicknesses in as-deposited and annealed states (280°C for 60 minutes) by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The Ti layer thickness was varied systematically from 4.9 to 29.4 nm while the Ni thickness was varied from 3.2 to 19.2 nm. Carbon coated Cu TEM grids were used as substrates. Microstructural characteristics of the bilayers were found to be deposition sequence dependent. Ti/Ni bilayers exhibit a finer microstructure than N/T especially for the thicker films. Intergranular cracking is observed in the Ti/Ni sequence. In both deposition sequences the presence of Ni promotes the crystallization of Ti in the as-deposited state. By contrast, single layer Ti films deposited under the same sputtering conditions remain amorphous up to 9.8 nm thick. The Ti{002} electron diffraction ring is present in all of the bilayers even those with the thinnest Ti layers. Additional Ti rings, {010} and {011}, develop in bilayers with thicker Ti layers. In both bilayer systems a tensile stress parallel to the film plane is present in the Ni layer. Annealing removes structural defects and relieves the stress. A large increase in Ni{111} spacing can be attributed to dissolution of Ti atoms into the Ni lattice. Annealing also produces evidence of grain growth, intermetallic compound formation, and amorphization in both Ti/Ni and Ni/Ti samples.


2009 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 242-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cyril Cayron ◽  
Martien Den Hertog ◽  
Laurence Latu-Romain ◽  
Céline Mouchet ◽  
Christopher Secouard ◽  
...  

Odd electron diffraction patterns (EDPs) have been obtained by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) on silicon nanowires grownviathe vapour–liquid–solid method and on silicon thin films deposited by electron beam evaporation. Many explanations have been given in the past, without consensus among the scientific community: size artifacts, twinning artifacts or, more widely accepted, the existence of new hexagonal Si phases. In order to resolve this issue, the microstructures of Si nanowires and Si thin films have been characterized by TEM, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and high-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy. Despite the differences in the geometries and elaboration processes, the EDPs of the materials show great similarities. The different hypotheses reported in the literature have been investigated. It was found that the positions of the diffraction spots in the EDPs could be reproduced by simulating a hexagonal structure withc/a= 12(2/3)1/2, but the intensities in many EDPs remained unexplained. Finally, it was established that all the experimental data,i.e.EDPs and HRTEM images, agree with a classical cubic silicon structure containing two microstructural defects: (i) overlapping Σ3 microtwins which induce extra spots by double diffraction, and (ii) nanotwins which induce extra spots as a result of streaking effects. It is concluded that there is no hexagonal phase in the Si nanowires and the Si thin films presented in this work.


2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (43) ◽  
pp. 7524-7532 ◽  
Author(s):  
Le Ma ◽  
Jie Zhang ◽  
Mushtaque A. Memon ◽  
Xiaoli Sun ◽  
Huihui Li ◽  
...  

The melt recrystallization of vacuum carbon evaporated melt-drawn iPP thin films at varying melting temperature, melting time and recrystallization temperature was studied by means of transmission electron microscopy combined with electron diffraction.


2001 ◽  
Vol 666 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annette Hultåker ◽  
Jun Lu ◽  
Eva Olsson ◽  
Gunnar A. Niklasson ◽  
Claes-Göran Granqvist

ABSTRACTThin films of intermixed layers of In2O3:Sn (denoted ITO) and silver were made by reactive dc magnetron sputtering. The silver to indium atomic ratio was 0 ≤ x ≥ 0.09 Films with x = 0.01 showed increased luminous transmittance Tlum after annealing at 100 or 200°C, whereas x > 0.01 yielded lowered Tlum. The optical properties could be reconciled with the Maxwell-Garnett effective medium theory assuming that a well-defined portion of the silver was occluded as spheroidal particles. Films with x ≤ 0.06 had enhanced electrical conductivity after annealing at 200 or 300°C. Transmission electron microscopy displayed columnar features whose character depended on x.


2002 ◽  
Vol 17 (8) ◽  
pp. 1985-1991 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroshi Matsuda ◽  
Hiroshi Sakakima ◽  
Hideaki Adachi ◽  
Akihiro Odagawa ◽  
Kentaro Setsune

In-plane 90° rotated biepitaxial Fe3O4 thin films have been successfully prepared onto MgO (110) substrates using a CeO2 seed layer and their microstructure, electric, and magnetic properties were investigated. From the x-ray φ-scan measurements, the in-plane epitaxial relations were determined as 〈110〉Fe3O4//〈110〉MgO and 〈001〉Fe3O4//〈001〉MgO for the no-seeded Fe3O4 layer, and 〈001〉Fe3O4//〈110〉MgO and 〈110〉Fe3O4//〈001〉MgO for the CeO2 (110) seeded Fe3O4 layer. The CeO2 seed layer was found to rotate the upper Fe3O4 lattice at 90° upon normal axis to the layer against the no-seeded Fe3O4. The transmission electron microscopy and electron diffraction analyses revealed that the transition region of the biepitaxial Fe3O4 boundary between CeO2-seeded and no-seeded portions consisted of columnarlike polycrystalline grains. The Fe 3O4 films exhibited single-crystallinelike electric and magnetic properties, however, substantial spin-dependent-tunneling magnetoresistance across the 90° grain boundary was not observed even in the antiparallel situation for each Fe3O4 portion.


2006 ◽  
Vol 966 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chun Wang ◽  
Mark H Kryder

ABSTRACTEpitaxial SrTiO3 (001) thin films with a TiN template layer have been deposited on Si(001) single crystal substrates by RF sputtering. The deposited SrTiO3 films show a surface with roughness of 0.66nm. The orientation relationship was determined to be SrTiO3(001)[110]∥TiN(001)[110]∥Si(001)[110]. The microstructure and interface of the multilayer was studied using high resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The electron diffraction pattern confirmed the epitaxial relationship between each layer.


2002 ◽  
Vol 17 (8) ◽  
pp. 2066-2074 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhaoxia Zhou ◽  
Ian M. Reaney ◽  
David Hind ◽  
Steven J. Milne ◽  
Andy P. Brown ◽  
...  

Advanced analytical transmission electron microscopy has been used to investigate microstructural evolution during pyrolysis in triol-based sol-gel thin films. At pyrolysis temperatures up to 300 °C, the films remained amorphous; however, nanometer-sized precipitates were observed in films heat-treated up to 400 °C for 10 min. Analytical transmission electron microscopy indicated that the precipitates were Pb-rich, as well as deficient in O, Ti, and Zr. Films pyrolyzed up to 500 °C for 10 min were composed of a nanocrystalline pyrochlore phase; however, pores could be observed, situated in the same position as the nanometer-sized precipitates at 400 °C. Face-centered cubic Pb-rich crystallites were also present on the surface of pyrolyzed films but absent in the fully crystallized films annealed at 650 °C. A tentative mechanism is proposed to explain these observations.


2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Erwin Amiruddin

<p>Alloys of cobalt samarium (Co-Sm) in the form of thin films were fabricated using dc magnetron sputtering technique. The films were fabricated as a function of samarium concentration ranging from 0 to 28 at.% in order to investigate the relationship between microstructure, coercivity and magnetic domain structure. Magnetic domain structures in the films have been studied by Lorentz microscopy using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). In this technique, the TEM was operated in the defocused mode. The results show that the magnetic image of Co<sub>90</sub>Sm<sub>10 </sub>film has fairly coarse structure with magnetization ripple and the domains ranging over 200-300 nm. The domain size is much larger than the grain size of Co<sub>90</sub>Sm<sub>10</sub> film. The “multiparticle” or interaction domains suggested that there is strong exchange coupling between the magnetization of the neighbouring grains inside each of them. The hysteresis loop for this film shows a small coercivity with high magnetization value and high loop squareness, indicating a greater proportion of magnetic material. </p>


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