Abstract
The applicability of models based on fractal geometry to characterize thin-film surfaces was investigated. The fractal geometry of sputtered chromium nitride and silicon nitride thin-film surfaces was described using Fourier spectral analysis of profiles from scanning tunnelling microscopy images and atomic force microscopy images. The CrNx and SiNx coatings were deposited on silicon wafers using reactive magnetron sputtering and varying the gas pressure. The columnar structure of the amorphous silicon nitride varied with deposition, similar to the structure of the polycrystalline chromium nitride films. The fractal dimension decreases with increasing pressure. Films with fine columnar structures are characterized by a larger fractal dimension than films with coarse columnar structures.© 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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