| AVS 54th International Symposium | |
| Thin Film | Wednesday Sessions |
| Session TF-WeM |
| Session: | Thin Film and Nanoparticle Growth and Characterization |
| Presenter: | J.M.E. Harper, University of New Hampshire |
| Authors: | J.M.E. Harper, University of New Hampshire D. Carlson, University of New Hampshire A.M. Brown, University of New Hampshire D.I. Filoti, University of New Hampshire |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
The connectivity of metal-insulator composite thin films varies with composition from a continuous metal phase surrounding insulating islands, through a variety of interconnected networks, to disconnected metal islands within a continuous insulating phase. We show that the strength of the metal fiber texture correlates with the degree of metal connectivity. Composite thin films of Au-SiO2 and Ag-Si were deposited using dual-source magnetron sputtering and the crystallographic texture was determined using x-ray pole figure measurements. For metal-rich compositions, we observe strong 111 Au or Ag fiber texture perpendicular to the substrate plane, similar to the fiber texture of pure fcc metal films. As the volume fraction of SiO2 or Si is increased, the strength of the 111 fiber texture decreases monotonically until a random texture is observed. The composition at which the fiber texture is lost correlates well with the composition at which the metal component becomes discontinuous, as determined by resistivity and transmission electron microscopy measurements. We conclude that x-ray pole figure measurements of fiber texture can be used for non-contact determination of the connectivity of phases in composite thin films.