This study aims at investigating the influence of gas atmospheres on the dewetting properties of DC sputtered and rapid thermally annealed silver (Ag) nanofilms. The annealing temperature ranged from 400℃ to 600℃ and the gases studied were argon (Ar) and nitrogen (N2). Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and focused ion beam (FIB) were employed for morphological studies, while the X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique was applied in the structural analysis of the films. The SEM and top-view FIB-SEM images of Ag films annealed in both atmospheres were characterized by irregular shaped holes. At fixed temperature, the films annealed in the N2 atmospheres gave higher hole density and larger hole sizes than the film annealed in the Ar atmosphere. Additionally, the hole density decreased with the annealing time. For films annealed in the N2 atmosphere, isolated dewetted particles were only obtained at 600℃ substrate temperature. The XRD patterns of all the films were characterized by Ag metallic peaks. No significant difference was observed among the films’ crystal structures. The annealing atmospheres mainly influences the morphologies of Ag nanofilms.
Published in | American Journal of Nano Research and Applications (Volume 3, Issue 6) |
DOI | 10.11648/j.nano.20150306.12 |
Page(s) | 99-104 |
Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2015. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Ag, Dewetting, Annealing Atmosphere, FIB
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APA Style
P. D. Nsimama. (2015). Morphological and Structural Properties of Silver Nanofilms Annealed by RTP in Different Atmospheres. American Journal of Nano Research and Applications, 3(6), 99-104. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.nano.20150306.12
ACS Style
P. D. Nsimama. Morphological and Structural Properties of Silver Nanofilms Annealed by RTP in Different Atmospheres. Am. J. Nano Res. Appl. 2015, 3(6), 99-104. doi: 10.11648/j.nano.20150306.12
@article{10.11648/j.nano.20150306.12, author = {P. D. Nsimama}, title = {Morphological and Structural Properties of Silver Nanofilms Annealed by RTP in Different Atmospheres}, journal = {American Journal of Nano Research and Applications}, volume = {3}, number = {6}, pages = {99-104}, doi = {10.11648/j.nano.20150306.12}, url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.nano.20150306.12}, eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.nano.20150306.12}, abstract = {This study aims at investigating the influence of gas atmospheres on the dewetting properties of DC sputtered and rapid thermally annealed silver (Ag) nanofilms. The annealing temperature ranged from 400℃ to 600℃ and the gases studied were argon (Ar) and nitrogen (N2). Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and focused ion beam (FIB) were employed for morphological studies, while the X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique was applied in the structural analysis of the films. The SEM and top-view FIB-SEM images of Ag films annealed in both atmospheres were characterized by irregular shaped holes. At fixed temperature, the films annealed in the N2 atmospheres gave higher hole density and larger hole sizes than the film annealed in the Ar atmosphere. Additionally, the hole density decreased with the annealing time. For films annealed in the N2 atmosphere, isolated dewetted particles were only obtained at 600℃ substrate temperature. The XRD patterns of all the films were characterized by Ag metallic peaks. No significant difference was observed among the films’ crystal structures. The annealing atmospheres mainly influences the morphologies of Ag nanofilms.}, year = {2015} }
TY - JOUR T1 - Morphological and Structural Properties of Silver Nanofilms Annealed by RTP in Different Atmospheres AU - P. D. Nsimama Y1 - 2015/11/26 PY - 2015 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.nano.20150306.12 DO - 10.11648/j.nano.20150306.12 T2 - American Journal of Nano Research and Applications JF - American Journal of Nano Research and Applications JO - American Journal of Nano Research and Applications SP - 99 EP - 104 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2575-3738 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.nano.20150306.12 AB - This study aims at investigating the influence of gas atmospheres on the dewetting properties of DC sputtered and rapid thermally annealed silver (Ag) nanofilms. The annealing temperature ranged from 400℃ to 600℃ and the gases studied were argon (Ar) and nitrogen (N2). Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and focused ion beam (FIB) were employed for morphological studies, while the X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique was applied in the structural analysis of the films. The SEM and top-view FIB-SEM images of Ag films annealed in both atmospheres were characterized by irregular shaped holes. At fixed temperature, the films annealed in the N2 atmospheres gave higher hole density and larger hole sizes than the film annealed in the Ar atmosphere. Additionally, the hole density decreased with the annealing time. For films annealed in the N2 atmosphere, isolated dewetted particles were only obtained at 600℃ substrate temperature. The XRD patterns of all the films were characterized by Ag metallic peaks. No significant difference was observed among the films’ crystal structures. The annealing atmospheres mainly influences the morphologies of Ag nanofilms. VL - 3 IS - 6 ER -