Oxygen-induced giant grain growth in Ag films

• Main Authors: Birnbaum, A.J (Author), Thompson, Carl Vernette (Author), Steuben, J.C (Author), Iliopoulos, A.P (Author), Michopoulos, J.G (Author)
• Other Authors: MIT Materials Research Laboratory (Contributor), Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Materials Science and Engineering (Contributor)
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: AIP Publishing, 2020-06-04T20:20:00Z.
• Subjects: Article
• Online Access: Get fulltext

Thin film crystallites typically exhibit normal or abnormal growth with maximum grain size limited by energetic and geometric constraints. Although epitaxial methods have been used to produce large single crystal regions, they impose limitations that preclude some compelling applications. The generation of giant grain thin film materials has broad implications for fundamental property analysis and applications. This work details the production of giant grains in Ag films (2.5 μm-thick), ranging in size from 50 μm to 1 mm, on silicon nitride films upon silicon substrates. The presence of oxygen during film deposition plays a critical role in controlling grain size and orientation. Crystallography, Crystallographic defects, Epitaxy, Transition metals, Thin film deposition, Thermal effects, X-ray diffraction, Chemical elements, Mechanical stress
United States. Office of Naval Research (ONR/NRL Core funding)