Comparison of preferred orientation and stress in silver thin films on different substrates using x-ray diffraction

Silver thin films were deposited on SiO2 and polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) using e-beam evaporation. X-ray diffraction techniques were used to investigate the influence of substrate morphology on the Ag film's texture. Different modes of texture were observed in Ag thin films on SiO2 and PEN. Detailed information regarding spatial distribution of specific {hkl} planes was obtained by conducting pole figure analyses. A typical stress measurement technique for thin films, sin(2) psi analysis, was performed to study how the surface morphology of the various substrates affected the stress induced during the texture evolution of the thin films. Based on the data from this study, the preferred orientation and stress of Ag thin films on SiO2 and PEN were discussed. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.