Epitaxial growth of (001) Al on (111) Si by vapor deposition

Heteroepitaxial growth of (001) Al thin films on Si (111) single crystal substrates by vapor deposition was studied by means of x-ray diffraction, Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, and transmission electron microscopy techniques. It was observed that the films deposited at room temperature exhibit random (111) texture, while the films deposited at 280 °C show perfect epitaxial alignment of (001) Al planes with (111) Si planes. In the interface plane 〈110〉 close packed directions in both the film and the substrate are parallel and hence Al grows with three orientation variants in a unique mazed tricrystal arrangement.