The Role of Structural Defects in the Growth of Thin Nickel Oxide Films

Abstract

<p>In this these, the nature and distribution of the structural defects present in thin nickel oxide films formed at 500° and 600°C have been determined, as a function of oxidation time, by means of transmission electron microscopy. For nickel oxide films of thickness up to at least 3500 and 5000Å, formed at 500° and 600°C respectively, the films were relatively uniform in thickness on individual metal grains and were composed of small oxide crystallites. The increase in crystallite size with oxidation time has been related to recrystalization and grain growth processes occurring in the films. An oxide film model has been advanced correlating the oxidation kinetics and simultaneous lattice diffusion and short-circuit diffusion via crystallite boundaries.</p> <p>At a later stage of growth the films consisted of large oxide grains containing randomly distributed dislocations of well defined sub-boundaries. These films exhibited non-uniform growth which has been attributed to the short-circuit diffusion of nickel via dislocations of sub-boundaries oriented approximately perpendicular to the plane of the film.<P>