Influence of argon pressure on the structural properties of polycrystalline sputtered Fe0.89Ga0.11 thin films

Abstract In this work, we present a systematic study on the relation between the elastic behavior and the structural properties of polycrystalline Fe0.89Ga0.11 thin films deposited on Si(100) substrates. By carrying out pole figure (PF) measurements, we determined the evolution of the texture components, residual stress and Young's modulus (Ys) as a function of the Ar pressure. The samples display several fiber-like texture components (where the fiber axes is always along the growth direction) beside to a random component; the texture component weights depend on the Ar pressure. The study of the residual stress reveals that the samples present a tensile stress, that relaxes when the Ar pressure increases. In the case of Ys, the estimated values vary slightly within the Ar pressure range studied. Finally, the residual stress and Ys behavior is correlated with the microstructure evolution by using the orientation distribution function (ODF) simulated from the PFs.