Modification of morphology of thin nickel and zirconium films on naturally oxidized silicon substrates by annealing in vacuum

The article presents a technique for fabricating nickel island films on oxidized silicon substrates by thermal dewetting of continuous coatings. First, continuous nickel films 5 nm thick were deposited by magnetron sputtering. Then, without exposure to the atmosphere, the coatings were annealed in a vacuum at 450 °C for 15−180 min. As a result, the formation of isolated metal islands was on the substrate with transverse dimensions from units to tens of nanometers, depending on the annealing time. The electrical and thermoelectrical characteristics of the produced island films were determined. Attempts to prepare zirconium island films using the same technique were unsuccessful as the technically available annealing temperature of 650 °C proved insufficient for dewetting of coatings made of this material.