Glancing angle deposition on a roll: Towards high-throughput nanostructured thin films

Yttrium fluoride (YF3) columnar thin films (CTFs) were fabricated by electron beam evaporation with the glancing angle deposition method. The microstructures and optical properties of YF3 CTFs were studied systematically. The YF3 films grown at different deposition angles are all amorphous. As the deposition angle increases, the columns in YF3 CTFs become increasingly separated and inclined, and the volume fraction of YF3 decreases, resulting in lower refractive indices. This phenomenon is attributed to the self-shadowing effect and limited adatom diffusion. The YF3 CTFs are optically biaxial anisotropic with the long axis (c-axis) parallel to the columns, the short axis (b-axis) perpendicular to the columns, and the other axis (a-axis) parallel to the film interface. The principal refractive index along the b-axis for the 82°-deposited sample is approximately 1.233 at 550 nm. For the 78°-deposited sample, the differences of principal refractive indices between the c-axis and the b-axis and between the a-axis and the b-axis reach the maximum 0.056 and 0.029, respectively. The differences of principal refractive indices were affected by both the deposition angle and the volume fraction of YF3.

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Structural Evolution of Nanostructured YBa2Cu3Ox Thin Films Formed by Pulsed Laser Glancing Angle Deposition

Solid State Phenomena - Nanoscience and Technology ◽

10.4028/3-908451-30-2.947 ◽

2007 ◽

pp. 947-950

Author(s):

H.H. Wang ◽

Y.P. Zhao

Keyword(s):

Thin Films ◽

Pulsed Laser ◽

Structural Evolution ◽

Glancing Angle Deposition ◽

Glancing Angle ◽

Angle Deposition

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

Microscopy and Microanalysis ◽

10.1017/s1431927612001080 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 18 (5) ◽

pp. 1135-1142 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Joshua Morgan Arthur Siewert ◽

Joshua Michael LaForge ◽

Michael Thomas Taschuk ◽

Michael Julian Brett

Keyword(s):

High Throughput ◽

Glancing Angle Deposition ◽

Rotation Rates ◽

Growth Mechanics ◽

Glancing Angle ◽

Scaling Parameters ◽

The Individual ◽

Growth Scaling ◽

Deposited Films ◽

Angle Deposition

AbstractWith 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.

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