An X-ray study of the effect of heat on the structure of sputtered films of gold

Sputtered films of gold of different thicknesses were heated to various temperatures up to 800° C. and their Debye-Scherrer photographs were obtained after each stage of heating. The photographs showed on examination that on being heated the gold crystals in the film oriented themselves in such a way that their 111 planes were parallel to the surface of deposition. The crystals were also found to grow when the film was heated. The degree of orientation as well as the size of the crystals, obtained from the photographs, were found to depend on both the thickness of the film and the temperature to which it was heated.