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Roughness of glancing angle deposited titanium thin films: an experimental and computational study
Matilda Backholm1, Morten Foss, Kai Nordlund
1Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO) and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark. backhomm@mcmaster.ca
Nanotechnology
|September 6, 2012
Summary
Atomic force microscopy (AFM) can miscalculate nanoscale roughness on high aspect ratio titanium films. Corrected data reveals roughness scales with deposition angle, confirmed by simulations.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Surface Science
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Characterizing nanoscale surface roughness is crucial for thin film properties.
- High aspect ratio nanostructures present unique challenges for surface metrology.
- Glancing angle deposition (GAD) is a technique used to create high aspect ratio nanostructures.
Purpose of the Study:
- To accurately characterize nanoscale roughness of glancing angle deposited titanium thin films.
- To investigate the influence of deposition angle on film roughness.
- To validate experimental findings with computational simulations.
Main Methods:
- Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) for nanoscale roughness measurement.
- Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) for structural and chemical analysis.
- 3D Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations to model GAD and roughness evolution.
Main Results:
- AFM measurements yielded inaccurate roughness values for high aspect ratio structures.
- A corrected power law scaling was established for roughness as a function of deposition angle (κ = 7.1 ± 0.2).
- MD simulations confirmed the power law scaling with a similar exponent (κ = 6.7 ± 0.4).
Conclusions:
- Experimental artifacts in AFM must be corrected for accurate roughness analysis of GAD films.
- Surface roughness in GAD films follows a power law dependence on the deposition angle.
- MD simulations provide a reliable method for understanding and predicting roughness in GAD processes.
