A new method for high resolution curvature measurement applied to stress monitoring in thin films.

By combining the well-known grid reflection method with a digital image correlation algorithm and a geometrical optics model, a new method is proposed for measuring the change of curvature of a smooth reflecting substrate, a common reporter of stress state of deposited layers. This tool, called Pattern Reflection for Mapping of Curvature (PReMC), can be easily implemented for the analysis of the residual stress during deposition processes and is sufficiently accurate to follow the compressive-tensile-compressive stress transition during the sputtering growth of a Ag film on a Si substrate. Unprecedented resolution below 10-5m-1can be reached when measuring a homogeneous curvature. A comparison with the conventional laser-based tool is also provided in terms of dynamical range and resolution. In addition, the method is capable of mapping local variations in the case of a non-uniform curvature as illustrated by the case of a Mo film of non-uniform film thickness under high compressive stress. PReMC offers interesting perspectives forin situaccurate stress monitoring in the field of thin film growth.

Experimental studies of the transmission of light through low-coverage regular or random arrays of silica micropillars supported by a glass substrate.

The transmission of light through low-coverage regular and random arrays of glass-supported silica micropillars of diameters 10-40 µm and height 10 µm is studied experimentally. Angle-resolved measurements of the transmitted intensity are performed at visible wavelengths by either a goniospectrophotometer or a multimodal imaging (Mueller) polarimetric microscope. It is demonstrated that for the regular arrays, the angle-resolved measurements are capable of resolving many of the densely packed diffraction orders that are expected for periodic structures of lattice constants 20-80 µm, but they also display features ("halos" and fringes) that are due to the scattering and guiding of light in individual micropillars or in the supporting glass slides. These latter features are also found in angle-resolved measurements on random arrays of micropillars of the same surface coverage. Finally, we perform a comparison of direct measurements of haze in transmission for our patterned glass samples with what can be calculated from the angle-resolved transmitted intensity measurements. Good agreement between the two types of results is found, which testifies to the accuracy of the angle-resolved measurements that we report.

On the O2 "Surfactant" Effect during Ag/SiO2 Magnetron Sputtering Deposition: The Point of View of In Situ and Real-Time Measurements.

The use of gaseous species has been proposed in the literature to counteract the three-dimensional growth tendency of noble metals on dielectric substrates and favor an earlier percolation without compromising electrical properties. This "surfactant" effect is rationalized herein in the case of O2 presence during magnetron sputtering deposition of Ag films on SiO2. In situ and real-time techniques (X-ray photoemission, film resistivity, UV-visible optical spectroscopy) and ex situ characterizations (X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy) were combined to scrutinize the impact of O2 addition in the gas flow (%O2), revealing three regimes of evolution of film resistivity, morphology, structure, and chemical composition. At low oxygen flow conditions (%O2 < 4), the observed drastic decrease of the percolation threshold is assigned to a combination of (i) a change in nanoparticle density, wetting, and crystallographic texture and (ii) a delayed coalescence effect. The driving force is ascribed to the presence of specific adsorbed oxygen moieties, the nature of which starts evolving at intermediate oxygen flow conditions (10 ≤ %O2 < 20). At high oxygen flow (20 ≤ %O2 < 40), the found detrimental impact on film resistivity is assigned to an actual oxidation in the form of a Ag2O-like poorly crystallized compound. For all %O2, a composition gradient is observed across the film thickness, with a more metallic Ag at the substrate interface. A correlation between percolation and the nature of the detected O moieties is observed. In parallel to an oxygen spillover mechanism, this gradient can be explained by the competition between different surface processes occurring before percolation, namely, aggregation, metal oxidation, and substrate reactivity. Such findings pave the way to a rational use of O2 as a modifier for Ag growth.