AVS 52nd International Symposium
    Exhibitor Workshop Wednesday Sessions
       Session EW-WeL

Paper EW-WeL4
Dynamic Scaling during Shadowing Growth of Ru Nanorods

Wednesday, November 2, 2005, 1:00 pm, Room Exhibit Hall C&D

Session: XPS and SPM New Developments and Applications
Presenter: L. Li, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Authors: L. Li, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
F. Tang, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
T. Karabacak, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
G.-C. Wang, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
T.-M. Lu, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Correspondent: Click to Email
We present a comprehensive study of dynamic scaling behavior of ruthenium nanorods grown by oblique angle sputter deposition with substrate rotation. The vertical nanorod arrays with various lengths (~ 40 to ~ 480 nm) were grown on silicon substrates tilted with an angle ~85° from the surface normal of the sputtering target. The images of the nanorods were obtained by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The images were analyzed using morphological analysis methods including power spectral density and autocorrelation functions. We observed that the Ru nanorods generated a quasi-periodic structure defined by a wavelength (@lambda@) as a result of shadowing effect. Moreover, the wavelength @lambda@, rod number-density N, rod diameter W, root-mean-square roughness @omega@, and lateral correlation length @xi@ (which measures an average distance within which the surface heights are correlated and is different from the wavelength) all change with rod height h according to a power law relationship, ~h@super p@, with exponents p@sub &lambda@ = 0.43 ± 0.02, p@sub N@ = -1.01 ± 0.02, p@sub W@ = 0.47 ± 0.09, p@sub &omega@ = 1.11 ± 0.01, and p@sub &xi@ = 0.55 ± 0.02, respectively. The measured values of the exponents p@sub W@, p@sub &omega@, and p@sub &xi@ are consistent with the results of theoretical models on oblique angle growth that include the effects of shadowing effect and isotropic surface diffusion. However, the exponents p@sub &lambda@ and p@sub N@ are not predicted by any previously known growth models. @FootnoteText@ F.T. is the recipient of the Harry Meiners Fellowship.