Formation of aluminium thin films in the presence of oxygen and nickel

After reviewing the structural properties and formation of Al thin films on the basis of literature, the phenomena of crystal growth taking place in vacuum deposited Al films are discussed. The presence of oxygen in the residual gases affects the layer growth of the individual crystallites directly. The adsorbed oxygen accumulates at the growth steps continuously and in consequence of this, oxide precipitates and two-dimensional oxide films can develop along the steps, hindering the growth of layers. These phenomena depend on the orientation of crystallites and influence both the coalescence of contacting crystallites and their recrystallization in continuous films. The formation of inhomogeneous structures and hillocks is explained using these results.