LabAdviser/Technology Research/Nanoscale characterization of ultra-thin metal films for nanofabrication applications: Difference between revisions
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metamaterials, nanopores for bio-detection, ultracompact resonators, substrates for graphene growth and devices for nanoimaging as nanolenses and waveguides. | metamaterials, nanopores for bio-detection, ultracompact resonators, substrates for graphene growth and devices for nanoimaging as nanolenses and waveguides. | ||
The final aim is to add a further fundamental step in the | The final aim is to add a further fundamental step in the "thin-film structure-property causality" approach visible in Fig. 1. | ||
The project involved the introduction of the recently developed transmission Kikuchi diffraction (TKD) technique for the characterization of the crystal structure, grain size, and crystallographic texture of polycrystalline thin films. The remarkable potential of TKD for the in-situ analysis of thin films at elevated temperatures was revealed through the in-situ investigation of solid-state dewetting of Au, enabling to observe the start of the dewetting at a temperature as low as 150°C and demonstrating the crucial role of temperature in the modification of the nanostructure of metal thin films during nanofabrication. The data acquired during solid state dewetting were used to qualitatively study the formation and expansion of the holes in the film. A new criterion for the detection of the temperature of formation of the holes in the film was introduced and an in-situ monitoring of the formation and expansion of the holes in the Au film was also performed. This allowed to observe the formation of the holes exclusively in the positions of high surface energy grains and the reduction of the interface energy of the system by the elimination of grain boundaries and by grain coalescence. | The project involved the introduction of the recently developed transmission Kikuchi diffraction (TKD) technique for the characterization of the crystal structure, grain size, and crystallographic texture of polycrystalline thin films. The remarkable potential of TKD for the in-situ analysis of thin films at elevated temperatures was revealed through the in-situ investigation of solid-state dewetting of Au, enabling to observe the start of the dewetting at a temperature as low as 150°C and demonstrating the crucial role of temperature in the modification of the nanostructure of metal thin films during nanofabrication. The data acquired during solid state dewetting were used to qualitatively study the formation and expansion of the holes in the film. A new criterion for the detection of the temperature of formation of the holes in the film was introduced and an in-situ monitoring of the formation and expansion of the holes in the Au film was also performed. This allowed to observe the formation of the holes exclusively in the positions of high surface energy grains and the reduction of the interface energy of the system by the elimination of grain boundaries and by grain coalescence. | ||