SURFACE TEXTURE OF IRON FILMS GROWN ON COPPER BUFFER LAYER

Epitaxial films of iron were made by vacuum evaporation onto a copper (111) buffer layer which was first deposited on cleaved mica. The prepared films were detached from the mica and ion-milled from the copper substrate side for examination by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Remarkable textural patterns were observed in the out of focus image of TEM, for iron films thicker than 10 nm. The size of rectangular laths composing the textural pattern became larger in length and width with the increase of the iron film thickness and with that of the substrate temperature. Because similar textural patterns were observed also in SEM micrographs, it was concluded that the textural patterns reflect the surface micro-topography of the iron films. © 1990.