Highly (200)-oriented Pt films on SiO₂/Si substrates by seed selection through amorphization and controlled grain growth

Highly (200)-oriented Pt films on SiO₂/Si substrates were successfully prepared by a combination of a dc magnetron sputtering using Ar/O₂ gas mixtures and subsequent controlled annealing. The intensity ratio of (200) to (111) planes (I₂₀₀/I₁₁₁) was over 200. The (200)-oriented Pt microcrystallites were less susceptible to amorphization due to their lower strain energy with oxygen incorporation than (111)-oriented ones. The controlled grain growth from the selected (200)-oriented seed microcrystallites during subsequent annealing provided a kinetic pathway where grain growth of the seed microcrystallites was predominant, while suppressing the nucleation of surface energy-driven, (111)-oriented seed microcrystallites and subsequent (111) preferred orientation.