Crystallization Thickness of Amorphous Sb Film on GeOxFilm Substrate in a Vacuum of 10-5Torr

Antimony films with thicknesses smaller than a critical value, deposited at room temperature, are composed of amorphous islands. Amorphous Sb film on GeO x film substrate starts to crystallize spontaneously when the fractional area occupied by Sb exceeds 70-80% in the vicinity of the critical thickness, here called the crystallization thickness d c . The value of d c is increased by exposing GeO x to air before evaporating the Sb; it is 60-80 Å for as-deposited GeO x but 100-120 Å for that exposed to air. This is because the compound islands on as-deposited GeO x cannot contract as easily as those on GeO x exposed to air after the coalescence of islands with neighbouring ones to form a continuous film.