Jeon, In-D., Barnes, M.C., Kim, Doh-Y., and Hwang, Nong M. (2003) Origin of positive charging of nanometer-sized clusters generated during thermal evaporation of copper. Journal of Crystal Growth, 247 (3-4). pp. 623-630.

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Abstract

Recently, charged copper clusters of a few nanometers were shown to be generated spontaneously during the thermal evaporation of copper at 1573 K, and were shown to be the major flux for the film growth. In order to identify the charging mechanism at low temperatures, the activation energy for positive charging was estimated based on the temperature dependence of the current generated during thermal evaporation. The activation energy was ~ 2.81 eV at 1573 K. This low activation energy could be explained by a Saha–Langmuir equation if the copper clusters are formed and undergo surface ionization on the oxidized tungsten. According to this mechanism, the activation energy for charging decreases with increasing cluster size and with increasing work function of the related surface. Based on this charging mechanism, some puzzling phenomena in the thermal evaporation of metals such as the irreproducibility of the process and the degraded film quality with decreasing evaporation rate could be explained.

Item ID:	38183
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	1873-5002
Keywords:	A1. charged clusters; A1. evaporation; A1. surface ionization; A3. thin film growth; B1. copper
Funders:	Korean Ministry of Science and Technology
Date Deposited:	09 Apr 2015 03:28
FoR Codes:	09 ENGINEERING > 0912 Materials Engineering > 091207 Metals and Alloy Materials @ 30% 10 TECHNOLOGY > 1007 Nanotechnology > 100706 Nanofabrication, Growth and Self Assembly @ 40% 02 PHYSICAL SCIENCES > 0204 Condensed Matter Physics > 020401 Condensed Matter Characterisation Technique Development @ 30%
SEO Codes:	97 EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE > 970102 Expanding Knowledge in the Physical Sciences @ 50% 97 EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE > 970109 Expanding Knowledge in Engineering @ 50%
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