Very fast biaxial texture evolution using high rate ion-beam-assisted deposition of MgO

We examined crystalline-texture evolution during ion-beam-assisted deposition (IBAD) of MgO thin films. We have demonstrated for the first time that in-plane crystalline texturing in IBAD of MgO scales with deposition rate. At high ion currents an in-plane texture full width at half-maximum (FWHM) of 10° can be achieved in less than 1 s, and 6° in 2.2 s. MgO texture further improves with thickness of a homoepitaxial layer deposited on top. We have developed an empirical quantification of the texture evolution in both IBAD and homoepitaxial layers. The best texture attained thus far in the MgO layer on polished Hastelloy tape has an in-plane FWHM of 1.6°. The high deposition rates demonstrated here make high-throughput manufacturing of IBAD textured templates a practical and cost-effective concept.