Characterization of granular Ag films grown by low-energy cluster beam deposition

Free charged and neutral Ag-n clusters were produced by a laser vaporizatio n cluster source and deposited onto SiO2 substrates resulting in cluster fi lms. These films were characterized by atomic force microscopy, X-ray diffr action and resistivity measurements to determine film topography, grain siz es, dimensions of the coherent scattering regions perpendicular to the film plane, and the mean free path length of the conduction electrons. An Ag fi lm grown by molecular beam deposition was investigated using the same chara cterization techniques. The results show that the deposited clusters keep a t least part of their shape upon impact on the substrate, giving rise to gr owth patterns and film properties distinctly different from those of conven tionally grown films. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.