Microstructural Characterization of Thin Polycrystalline Films by X-Ray Diffraction

Abstract

AbstractThe Fourier analysis of the broadened profiles in a powder pattern allows the determination of the effective particle or domain size and the microstrains within each domain in polycrystalline materials. In order to apply this method to the diffraction patterns of thin films and coatings, deposited on crystalline or amorphous substrates, special diffraction techniques must be employed for the registration of the relatively weak intensities. The fitting of the experimental profiles to pseudo-Voigt functions permits the recovery of the peak tails and a precise determination of the background. The positions of the peak maxima or centroids yield information about any compositional variations, and about the occurrence of stacking faults and residual stresses in thin films and coatings.