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Fractal Nature of Nanocomposite Thin Films with Co NPs in a-C:H Matrix

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Abstract

The aim of the present article is to investigate experimentally the fractal nature of the 3-D surface morphology of nanocomposite thin films consisting of partially oxidized cobalt nanoparticles with a face-centered-cubic (fcc) structure embedded in a hydrogenated amorphous carbon matrix. The samples were prepared by reactive magnetron sputtering using acetylene gas under gas pressures varying from 2.1 to 2.9 Pa. The characterization of the films surfaces was carried out by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), and the obtained AFM images were analyzed dividing them into motifs of significant peaks and pits using a segmentation algorithm. This analysis revealed that these nanocomposite thin films are well described as monofractal structures presenting only one scaling exponent whose value was found within the range from 2.4 to 2.7 for the different samples.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Department of AET, Discipline of Descriptive Geometry and Engineering Graphics, 103-105 B-dul Muncii St., Cluj-Napoca, 400641, Cluj, Romania

    Stefan Tǎlu

  2. University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science, Sloneczna 54, 10-710, Olsztyn, Poland

    Slawomir Kulesza

  3. University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Faculty of Technical Sciences, Oczapowskiego 11, 10-719, Olsztyn, Poland

    Miroslaw Bramowicz

  4. Young Researchers and Elite Club, Kermanshah Branch, Islamic Azad University, Kermanshah, Iran

    Ali Arman

  5. Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León (UANL), Facultad de Ciencias Físico Matemáticas (FCFM), Av. Pedro de Alba s/n, San Nicolás de los Garza, 66455, Nuevo León, Mexico

    Carlos Luna

  6. Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS), 1650 Boulevard Lionel-Boulet, Varennes, QC, J3X 1P7, Canada

    Amine Achour

  7. Department of Physics, Kermanshah Branch, Islamic Azad University, Kermanshah, Iran

    Azin Ahmadpourian

Authors
  1. Stefan Tǎlu
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  2. Slawomir Kulesza
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  3. Miroslaw Bramowicz
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  4. Ali Arman
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  5. Carlos Luna
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  6. Amine Achour
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  7. Azin Ahmadpourian
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Correspondence to Azin Ahmadpourian.

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Tǎlu, S., Kulesza, S., Bramowicz, M. et al. Fractal Nature of Nanocomposite Thin Films with Co NPs in a-C:H Matrix. Silicon 10, 675–680 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12633-016-9512-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12633-016-9512-y

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