The structure and stability of β-Ta thin films

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

5-23-2005

Abstract

Ta films with tetragonal crystalline structure (β-phase), deposited by magnetron sputtering on different substrates (steel, silicon, and silicon dioxide), have been studied. In all cases, very highly preferred (001) orientation was observed in X-ray diffraction measurements. All diffraction data revealed two weak reflections corresponding to d-spacing of 0.5272 and 0.1777 nm. The presence of the two peaks, attributed to (001) and (003) reflections, indicates that β-Ta films exhibit a high preference for the space group of P-421m over P42/mnm, previously proposed for β-Ta. Differences in relative intensities of (00l) reflections, calculated for single crystal β-Ta σ-type Frank-Kasper structure and those measured in the films, are attributed to defects in the films. Molecular dynamics simulations performed on tantalum clusters with six different initial configurations using the embedded-atom-method potential revealed the stability of β-Ta, which might explain its growth on many substrates under various deposition conditions. © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Identifier

15344339648 (Scopus)

Publication Title

Thin Solid Films

External Full Text Location

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsf.2004.12.006

ISSN

00406090

First Page

166

Last Page

173

Issue

1-2

Volume

479

Grant

DAAE30-98-C-1050

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