Evolution of surface morphology at the early stage ofAl2O3 film growth on a rough substrate

Abstract

We present an experimental study of the evolution of the surface of a growing film as a functionof the statistical parameters of the virgin substrate roughness. The growth of sputter-depositedAl2O3 films onto Si substrates was followed in situ using an x-ray scattering technique. Despite theuse of substrates presenting different roughness correlation length and crystallographicorientation, the evolution of the film roughness is demonstrated to obey the samescaling law, i.e., with the same static and dynamic exponents. Approaches toaccurately determine the scaling exponents from x-ray scattering data are discussed.