Morphology of thin lead films grown on glass substrates by atomic force and electron microscopy

The morphology of vacuum evaporated lead films (∼50–200 Å) on glass substrates has been investigated by atomic force microscopy and transmission electron microscopy with selected area diffraction. It is observed that the grain size increases with film thickness. When the thickness exceeds a certain value, the grains coalesce to form clusters. The size and roughness have been investigated by atomic force microscopy. The selected area diffraction pattern show polycrystalline nature of the films even at 60 Å thickness. The transmission electron microscopy shows isolated grains at lower thickness which agglomerate at higher thickness.