Formation of crystallographic texture in rf sputter-deposited Cr thin films

Abstract

Although it is well known that Cr underlayers sputter deposited on glass or NiP/Al substrates have either the (002) or (110) textures, the mechanism of the formation of the crystallographic textures is not clear. A model is proposed for the formation of the crystallographic texture of sputter-deposited Cr thin films. A systematic set of experiments has been carried out to test the model. It was found that the (110) texture, which is usually found in Cr thin films deposited on substrates without preheating, can form at elevated temperatures (250 °C) when deposited at low Ar pressure or by applying substrate bias. The initial stage of the texture formation was also investigated by using very thin Cr films. It was found that the (002) texture can be initiated directly on the substrate surface, while the (110) texture appears not to form directly on substrate surface, but rather as a result of film growth. The proposed model is consistent with the experimental results.