R. GAVRILA, A. DINESCU, D.MARDARE
A Power Spectral Density Study of Thin Films Morphology Based on AFM Profiling

Abstract. Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) is extensively being used for characterizing thin film surfaces. In addition to direct imaging, AFM profile data enable to derive the Power Spectral Density (PSD) of the surface roughness and thus provide useful information on characteristic features which compose the microstructure of the films. In the present work PSD spectra computed from AFM data were used for studying the morphology of three different titanium oxide thin films obtained by dc magnetron sputtering onto glass. The derived PSD curves were fitted with an appropriate analytic function and characteristic parameters were deduced and discussed in order to compare film morphologies in conjunction with the deposition conditions.

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