Structural control in porous/compact multilayer systems grown by magnetron sputtering

In this work we analyze a phenomenon that takes place when growing magnetron sputtered porous/compact multilayer systems by alternating the oblique angle and the classical configuration geometries. We show that the compact layers develop numerous fissures rooted in the porous structures of the film...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: García Valenzuela, Aurelio, López Santos, Carmen, Álvarez Molina, Rafael, Rico, Víctor, Cotrino Bautista, José, González Elipe, Agustín Rodríguez, Palmero Acebedo, Alberto
Format: article
Status:Versión aceptada para publicación
Publication Date:2017
Country:España
Institution:Universidad de Sevilla (US)
Repository:idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla
OAI Identifier:oai:idus.us.es:11441/160673
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/11441/160673
https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6528/aa8cf4
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Oblique Angle Deposition
Magnetron Sputtering
Plasma-Assisted Deposition
Multilayers
TiO2
SiO2
Description
Summary:In this work we analyze a phenomenon that takes place when growing magnetron sputtered porous/compact multilayer systems by alternating the oblique angle and the classical configuration geometries. We show that the compact layers develop numerous fissures rooted in the porous structures of the film below, in a phenomenon that amplifies when increasing the number of stacked layers. We demonstrate that these fissures emerge during growth due to the high roughness of the porous layers and the coarsening of a discontinuous interfacial region. To minimize this phenomenon, we have grown thin interlayers between porous and compact films under the impingement of energetic plasma ions, responsible for smoothing out the interfaces and inhibiting the formation of structural fissures. This method has been tested in practical situations for compact TiO2/porous SiO2 multilayer systems, although it can be extrapolated to other materials and conditions.