Physical Analysis of Silver Thin Films Deposited by Electron Beam Technique

Abstract

The effect of annealing temperature on the properties of silver thin films has been investigated. Ag thin films have been deposited on glass substrates by electron beam coating, afterward subjected to annealing in a mixed ambient of air and oxygen at 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500°C for 3 h and then cooled slowly. The crystallographic structures of the Ag thin films were studied as a function of the annealing temperature. X‑ray diffraction (XRD) was used to estimate the crystallographic texture and grain size. All the films were found to have crystalline structure. The film microstructures were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The XRD and SEM results confirmed the presence of silver particles in the thin films. The optical and morphological properties and elemental composition of samples were analysed using of the ultra-violet and visible (UV–vis) spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM), transmittance electron microscopy analysis (TEM) and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDS) which gave results in agreement with XRD and SEM results.