Anomalous scaling during glancing angle deposition

Metallic nanorods grown by glancing angle deposition at Ts =300-1123 K exhibit self-affine scaling, where the average rod width w increases with height h according to w hp. The growth exponent p for the investigated metals (Ta, Nb, and Cr) varies with temperature and material but collapses onto a single curve when plotted against the homologous temperature θ= Ts / Tm. It decreases from p=0.5 at θ=0 to 0.39 at θ=0.22, consistent with reported theoretical predictions, but exhibits a transition to an anomalous value of p=0.7 at θ=0.26, followed by a decrease to 0.33 at θ=0.41. The cause for the anomalous scaling at 0.24 ≤θ ≤0.34 is unknown but may be due to a gradual transition from two-dimensional to three-dimensional surface island growth. © 2009 American Institute of Physics.

Duke Scholars

Author Sayan Mukherjee Statistical Science