Ni line pattern coarsening on zirconia substrates: Impact of initial dimensions

Abstract Long-term thermal stability of nickel line patterns was investigated. 5 μm-wide patterns and 20 μm-wide patterns were deposited with four different thicknesses, and their morphological change was compared after heat treatment. Displaced volume was calculated by post-annealing image analysis. Opposite coarsening trends were found for the two tested widths. 20 μm-wide patterns show deviation from predictions of previous models, but they still behave as expected: thinner pattern shows higher mobility. This is reversed for 5 μm-wide patterns. Surface tension at the metal-gas interface, the usual driving force behind coarsening, can still explain the unexpected displaced volume dependence on thickness.