Surface morphology of sputtered NiTi-based shape memory alloy thin films

The effect of substrate condition and annealing treatment on the surface morphology of sputter-deposited NiTi-based thin films was studied by means of atomic force microscope. It is found that the surface of the film deposited at 450 °C on a (100) Si wafer is composed of large island groups, consisting of islands of 150–300 nm in diameter. Annealing treatment at 400 °C results in a more homogeneous distribution of the island size. However, for the film deposited at 450 °C on a (111) Si wafer, its surface consists of more homogeneous islands, being about 200–250 nm in diameter. For the film deposited at 450 °C on a SiO₂ buffer layer on top of the Si-substrate, the surface islands have ideal spherical shape. After annealed at 650 °C, the islands have grown to about 300 nm in width and 550 nm in length. The surface roughness of the deposited film is related not only to the island sizes but also to the island distributions.