OBLIQUE GROWTH OF IRON THIN-FILMS ON GLASS - A CROSS-SECTIONAL TRANSMISSION ELECTRON-MICROSCOPY STUDY

Very thin iron columnar layers have been obliquely grown on glass unde r ultra-high vacuum, and studied by cross-sectional transmission elect ron microscopy, selected-area electron diffraction and X-ray texture a nalysis experiments. Micrographs of layers a few tens of nanometres th ick have been obtained. For the first time, we put forward the existen ce of an oblique growth for such thin layers in the case of metals. We discuss the influence of the inclination of the flux, and we compare our results with existing theoretical models. We also describe the inf luence of other parameters such as the substrate temperature or the di vergence of the incident flux. We finally attempt to explain this colu mnar morphology by means of a Volmer-Weber growth and a shadowing effe ct.