Aluminum Doping Effect on Surface Structure of Silver Ultrathin Films

Ultrathin silver films with low loss in the visible and near-infrared spectrum range have been widely used in the fields of metamaterials and optoelectronics. In this study, Al-doped silver films were prepared by the magnetron sputtering method and were characterized by surface morphology, electrical conductivity, and light transmittance analyses. Molecular dynamics simulations and first-principles density functional theory calculations were applied to study the surface morphologies and migration pathway for the formation mechanisms in Al-doped silver films. The results indicate that the migration barrier of silver on a pristine silver surface is commonly lower than that of an Al-doped surface, revealing that the aluminum atoms in the doping site decrease the surface mobility and are conducive to the formation of small islands of silver. When the islands are dense, they coalesce into a single layer, leading to a smoother surface. This might be the reason for the observably lower 3D growth mode of silver on an Al-doped silver surface. Our results with electronic structure insights on the mechanism of the Al dopants on surface morphologies might benefit the quality control of the silver thin films.