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In situ X-ray measurements over large Q-space to study the evolution of oxide thin films prepared by RF sputter deposition

  • Ceramics
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Abstract

Sputter deposition is a versatile and industrially important deposition technique for thin films, with increasing demand for matching the characteristics of thin film materials to specific requirements. The actual film properties are largely determined by sputtering parameters such as pressure conditions, temperature and power settings. By means of various X-ray diffraction and scattering techniques, it is shown that the characterization of film formation and growth is feasible in real time at synchrotron sources, thus adding an important dimension to the fundamental understanding of the evolution of thin film microstructure. In particular, grazing incidence small-angle X-ray scattering, grazing incidence X-ray powder diffraction and X-ray reflectometry are used in a complementary manner to study the influence of deposition temperature and substrate choice on the crystallization kinetics and growth of polycrystalline BaTiO\(_3\) films.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge K. Pflaum, J. Blume, L. Wilke, M. Fleck and H. Zink and the FS-EC group. Because of their work and efforts, the sputtering unit is operational. We further thank F. Bertram, R. Doehrmann, K. Schlage and U. Ruett from the FS-PE group for fruitful discussions and help during the different beam times. For help in creating the graphic Fig. 1., we are indebted to J. Frerichs.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron, Notkestr. 85, 22607, Hamburg, Germany

    P. Walter, J. Wernecke, M. Scholz, D. Reuther, A. Rothkirch, D. Haas, J. Blume, O. Seeck & A.-C. Dippel

  2. SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, CA, 94025, USA

    P. Walter

  3. Synchrotron SOLEIL, L’Orme des Merisiers, Saint-Aubin, Boîte Postale 48, 91192, Gif sur Yvette Cedex, France

    A. Resta & A. Vlad

  4. 2nd. Institute of Physics B and JARA-FIT, RWTH Aachen University, Otto-Blumenthal-Str. 1, 52074, Aachen, Germany

    O. Faley, S. Schipmann, A. Nent & U. Klemradt

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  1. P. Walter
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  2. J. Wernecke
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Correspondence to P. Walter.

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Walter, P., Wernecke, J., Scholz, M. et al. In situ X-ray measurements over large Q-space to study the evolution of oxide thin films prepared by RF sputter deposition. J Mater Sci 56, 290–304 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-020-05337-4

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