Oxygen-induced giant grain growth in Ag films

Abstract

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.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Oct 16, 2017
Source ID
10.1063/1.4998741

Entities

People

  • Andrew J. Birnbaum
  • Athanasios Iliopoulos
  • Carl V. Thompson
  • J. G. Michopoulos
  • John C. Steuben

Organizations

  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Office of Naval Research
  • United States Naval Research Laboratory

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Materials science

Readers

  • Nanofabrication and Microfabrication.
  • Nanoscale Plasmonic Nanotechnology
  • Theoretical Analysis.