Ib. Chung et al., Evolution of the mound morphology in (111) oriented polycrystalline Pd films and Co Pd multilayered films with Pd underlayers, J APPL PHYS, 86(1), 1999, pp. 306-310
Pd thin films and Co/Pd multilayered films with progressively thicker Pd un
derlayers are prepared by physical vapor depositions. Their growth behavior
s are investigated using atomic force microscopy and transmission electron
microscopy. We observed that a mound occurs on top of each crystallite of (
111) oriented polycrystalline Pd films and that the average mound size incr
eases according to the capillary-induced coalescence mechanism. We attribut
e this observed growth instability to the step barrier which resists step-d
own diffusion of deposited atoms. We also observed that the mound slopes of
Co/Pd multilayers are smaller than those of their Pd underlayers. We sugge
st that this results from a downhill current driven by the interface energy
between the Co and Pd layers. (C) 1999 American Institute of Physics. [S00
21-8979(99)04712-X].