Formation of biaxially textured molybdenum thin films under the influence of recrystallization conditions

This article highlights the formation of biaxially textured body centered cubic Mo nanorods under recrystallization conditions using glancing angle deposition. The flux incidence angle has been changed (alpha =0 degrees, 70 degrees and 85 degrees away from the surface normal) to observe its effect on the formation of biaxial texture under a constant low Ar pressure environment (0.306 Pa). Only at a glancing flux incidence (alpha=85 degrees). the directional diffusion overcomes the effect of recrystallization to yield a highly biaxial texture. In another study, a normal flux incidence (alpha=0 degrees) was kept constant and the Ar pressure was changed (0.67, 1.33 and 2.67 Pa) to see its influence on the film morphology and the resulting texture. The Ar pressure variation was aimed at attempting a zone transformation in accordance with the structure zone model. While the morphology appeared to agree with the expected zone transformation, the texture did not. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.