THIN REACTIVE LIF FILMS FOR NUCLEAR SENSORS

Lithium fluoride (LiF) films are deposited by thermal evaporation on s ilicon substrates, The substrate temperature and deposition rate's inf luence on the morphology and structure of the films are investigated, It is shown that it is necessary to work with a low deposition rate to have crack-free layers. Also, the substrate temperature has a great i nfluence on coating morphology: the grain size increases with temperat ure. At the same time, the crystallization state increases up to 300 d egrees C. For higher temperatures, recrystallization seems to appear. The grain size increases as well as the grain boundary size. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science S.A.