Investigation into the surface morphology of nanosized silicate and hybrid films by optical and atomic-force microscopy

This paper reports on the results of investigations into the surface morphology of hybrid organic-inorganic films prepared by the sol-gel method on single-crystal semiconductor silicon. The spin-on-glass films are coated from sols based on tetraethoxysilane. The chemical composition of the films is modified by introducing inorganic compounds (dopants), namely, boric acid and gadolinium nitrate, into the sols. For the purpose of increasing the film thickness, the sols are modified by small amounts (∼1 wt %) of polyols that have linear and branched structures, different molecular weights, and different numbers of active functional groups. A substantial change in the surface morphology of the spin-coated films, i.e., the formation of a specific structure of the films under the action of the above dopants and modifiers, is revealed using optical and atomic-force microscopy.