Fractal features of carbon-nickel composite thin films.

Abstract

This work analyses the three-dimensional (3-D) surface texture of carbon-nickel (C-Ni) films grown by radio frequency (RF) magnetron co-sputtering on glass substrates. The C-Ni thin films were deposited under different deposition times, from 50 to 600s, at room temperature. Atomic force microscopy was employed to characterize the 3-D surface texture data in connection with the statistical, and fractal analyses. It has been found that up to 180s the sputtering occurs in more metal content mode and in greater than 180s it occurs in more non-metal content mode. This behavior demonstrated a strong link between the structural and morphological properties of C-Ni composite films and facilitates a deeper understanding of structure/property relationships and surface defects in prepared samples. Furthermore, these findings can be applied to research on the mechanisms to prepare and control high-quality C-Ni films.