Disassembling Glancing Angle Deposited Films for High-Throughput, Single-Post Growth Scaling Measurements

With growing interest in nanostructured thin films produced by glancing angle deposition (GLAD), it becomes increasingly important to understand their overall growth mechanics and nanocolumn structure. We present a new method of isolating the individual nanocolumns of GLAD films, facilitating automated measurement of their broadening profiles. Data collected for α = 81° TiO2 vertical nanocolumns deposited across a range of substrate rotation rates demonstrates that these rates influence growth scaling parameters. Further, individual posts were found in each case that violate predicted Kardar-Parisi-Zhang growth scaling limits. The technique's current iteration is comparable to existing techniques in speed: though data were studied from 10,756 individual objects, the majority could not be confidently used in subsequent analysis. Further refinement may allow high-throughput automated film characterization and permit close examination of subtle growth trends, potentially enhancing control over GLAD film broadening and morphology.