Morphology of Thin Films of Gold Grown on CaF2 (100) and (111)

TL;DR

This study investigates how gold thin films grow on CaF2 substrates with different orientations, revealing substrate-dependent structures and growth behaviors through atomic force microscopy analysis.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the substrate-dependent morphology and epitaxial growth conditions of gold thin films on CaF2 (100) and (111).

Findings

On CaF2 (100), flat plateaus form at 30-45 nm thickness.

On CaF2 (111), closed rough films develop at 70-90 nm.

Epitaxial growth occurs at 320°C on both substrates.

Abstract

Thin films of gold were deposited on single crystalline CaF2 substrates of (100) and (111) orientation by thermal evaporation. The resulting film structure was analyzed by means of atomic force microscopy in dependence of substrate temperature and deposition thickness. A marked substrate dependency was found. On CaF2 (100), extended and flat plateaus with diameters of several hundreds of nanometers form in a network-like arrangement for deposition thicknesses between 30 and 45 nm. On CaF2 (111), closed films of small average roughness develop at film thicknesses between 70 and 90 nm. These films do not exhibit, however, the extended plateaus present in the former case. On basis of the rule of Brueck and Engel, epitaxial growth of Au (100) crystallites on both surfaces is suggested. For both substrates, the epitaxial temperature was determined to Te = 320 C