Structure and Orientation Variations during Growth of Films of Pd–5 at % Pb Solid Solution

This article is devoted to studying morphological, structural, and orientation transformations and variations of elemental composition during growth of films of Pd–Pb solid solution upon magnetron sputtering of Pd–5 at % Pb target in an Ar environment (10–1 Pa); the initial vacuum is 10–3 Pa; growth rate is 4 nm/s; magnetron power during growth of thin films is 630–650 W and of thick films is 750–790 W. It is established that nucleation and growth of films of Pd–Pb solid solution take place according to the Volmer–Weber growth mode and are accompanied by collective recrystallization. The stage of labyrinth morphology is achieved at an average thickness of 10 nm. This stage is characterized by nanocrystalline structure and uniaxial texture 〈 111〉 . Existence of the second component (Pb) suppresses multiple twinning peculiar to Pd island films. The elemental composition in the film bulk is characterized by a decrease in Pb concentration.