Growth of Nb thin films on SiO2

Abstract Nb thin films have been prepared by electron beam evaporation under ultrahigh vacuum conditions on fused silica substrates at various temperatures, and their structural and morphological evolutions have been investigated using X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy. The crystallographic texture of the Nb films is found to depend on the growth temperature. At room temperature, the [1 1 0] texture is dominant. However, at 200°C, the [3 1 0] oriented growth is favored, co-existing with [1 1 0] and [2 0 0] oriented grains. At 400–600°C, a completely [1 1 0] textured film is formed. At even higher temperature (800°C), a complex texture of [1 1 0] (dominant), [2 0 0] and [3 1 0] is observed again. It is also found that the single [1 1 0] textured Nb films have smooth surfaces, and the complex textured Nb films have rough surfaces.