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Micron‐scale wedge thin films prepared by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition
Author(s) -
LópezSantos MariaCarmen,
Alvarez Rafael,
Palmero Alberto,
Borrás Ana,
Casquel del Campo Rafael,
Holgado Miguel,
GonzálezElipe Agustín R.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
plasma processes and polymers
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.644
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1612-8869
pISSN - 1612-8850
DOI - 10.1002/ppap.201700043
Subject(s) - wedge (geometry) , materials science , thin film , chemical vapor deposition , refractive index , combustion chemical vapor deposition , fabrication , plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition , laminar flow , birefringence , plasma , optics , scanning electron microscope , optoelectronics , analytical chemistry (journal) , nanotechnology , carbon film , composite material , chemistry , physics , quantum mechanics , medicine , alternative medicine , pathology , chromatography , thermodynamics
Wedge‐shaped materials are currently employed for optical analyses and sensing applications. In this paper, we present an easy to implement plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition procedure to grow wedge‐shaped thin films with controlled slope at the scale of few hundred microns. The method relies on the use of few tenths micron height obstacles to alter the laminar flow of precursor gas during deposition and is applied for the fabrication of wedge‐shaped ZnO thin films. Local interference patterns, refractive index, and birefringence of the films have been measured with one micron resolution using a specially designed optical set‐up. Their micro‐ and nano‐structures have been characterized by means of scanning electron microscopy and theoretically reproduced by Monte Carlo calculations.