X-RAY REFLECTIVITY STUDY ON GOLD-FILMS DURING SPUTTER-DEPOSITION

We performed in-situ X-ray reflectivity measurements of gold films dur ing sputter deposition on polished silicon substrates. The measurement s were performed at several substrate temperatures and under two argon pressures. The gold surfaces were also examined by scanning tunneling microscopy after deposition to obtain their rear-space topographic im ages. These images were used to complement the X-ray reflectivity meas urements in determining the effect of argon pressure on the gold surfa ce and its height-height difference functions. An approximation for he ight-height difference functions was employed to analyze the X-ray ref lectivity data. The measured interface width during growth followed a simple power law, consistent with recent theoretical results of dynami c scaling behavior. The scaling exponents, however, do not agree well with predictions based on some models in 2 + 1 dimensions. (C) 1997 El sevier Science B.V.