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Investigation of Cu whisker growth by molecular beam epitaxy

Dedicated to the memory of Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Horst P. Strunk
  • Cagatay Elibol

    Assistant Prof. Dr.-Ing. Cagatay Elibol, born in 1985, received his BSc degree in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering at the University of Kocaeli, Turkey, with Honors as best graduate of the academic year 2007, and his Dipl.-Ing. degree in Materials Science from the University of Stuttgart in cooperation with the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Germany, in 2011. He received a PhD with highest honors (summa cum laude) from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Technology Chemnitz, Germany in 2018. Dr.-Ing. Cagatay Elibol has been working in the Department of Materials Science and Technology at the Turkish-German University, Istanbul/Turkey since May 2018. Currently, he is Head of the Division of Electronic Materials and Vice Dean of the Faculty of Science at the same university. His main focus is the field of mechanical characterization and the deformation behavior analysis of shape memory alloys using in situ optical strain mapping techniques and of lightweight hybrid structures/ composites.

     EMAIL logo     and Horst Paul Strunk

    Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Horst Paul Strunk † (19402015) received his degree in Physics in 1968 in Stuttgart. He joined the group connected to Prof. Seeger at the MPI for Metals Research and received his PhD at Stuttgart University in 1973. Prof. Strunk worked at the Institute of Materials Science at Stuttgart University. His research interests were focused on microstructure of materials and their relation to macroscopic physical properties. Under his supervision, Assistant Prof. Dr.-Ing. Elibol carried out the scientific research presented in this work as a part of his diploma thesis at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart.
Published/Copyright: November 30, 2021
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Materials Testing
From the journal Materials Testing Volume 63 Issue 11

Abstract

There is a trend towards smaller and smaller structures (nanostructures/ miniaturization) which is well-known in microelectronic, energy and semiconductor applications. Nanoengineering is expected to lead to significant improvements in the intrinsic properties of structures, e. g., in energy storage for supercapacitors. In this context, a deeper understanding of the growth mechanisms of the thinnest crystal layers is of crucial importance for the controlled growing of nanowhiskers with outstanding properties. In the present study, we consider a simple whisker growth model based on the surface energy (i. e., wettability) of the components and investigate the effect of the carbon interlayer deposited on a Si (111) wafer using the magnetron sputtering technique on the whisker formation during the subsequent molecular beam epitaxy process in the Si-C-Cu system. In the present study, the topographic holes in the carbon layer which are the preferred nucleation areas of whiskers were identified by a series of scanning tunneling microscopy analyses, and the natural hole density was statistically determined. Using atomic force microscopy, the surface roughness of the carbon layer was characterized. The results of our investigations indicate that there is a correlation between the hole density in the carbon layer and the density of Cu nanowhiskers. This may validate the supposition that the holes in the carbon layer are the preferred nucleation sites for whiskers – an effect that could be relevant for future works on the growth of nanowhiskers at predefined positions.

Keywords: Whisker growth; Cu nanowhiskers; physical vapor deposition; molecular beam epitaxy; scanning tunneling spectroscopy/microscopy
Cagatay Elibol Department of Materials Science and Technology Turkish-German University Beykoz, Istanbul/Turkey

About the authors

Assistant Prof. Dr.-Ing. Cagatay Elibol

Assistant Prof. Dr.-Ing. Cagatay Elibol, born in 1985, received his BSc degree in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering at the University of Kocaeli, Turkey, with Honors as best graduate of the academic year 2007, and his Dipl.-Ing. degree in Materials Science from the University of Stuttgart in cooperation with the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Germany, in 2011. He received a PhD with highest honors (summa cum laude) from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Technology Chemnitz, Germany in 2018. Dr.-Ing. Cagatay Elibol has been working in the Department of Materials Science and Technology at the Turkish-German University, Istanbul/Turkey since May 2018. Currently, he is Head of the Division of Electronic Materials and Vice Dean of the Faculty of Science at the same university. His main focus is the field of mechanical characterization and the deformation behavior analysis of shape memory alloys using in situ optical strain mapping techniques and of lightweight hybrid structures/ composites.

Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Horst Paul Strunk

Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Horst Paul Strunk † (19402015) received his degree in Physics in 1968 in Stuttgart. He joined the group connected to Prof. Seeger at the MPI for Metals Research and received his PhD at Stuttgart University in 1973. Prof. Strunk worked at the Institute of Materials Science at Stuttgart University. His research interests were focused on microstructure of materials and their relation to macroscopic physical properties. Under his supervision, Assistant Prof. Dr.-Ing. Elibol carried out the scientific research presented in this work as a part of his diploma thesis at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart.

Acknowledgment

This study, as a part of the diploma thesis research of Assistant Prof. Dr.-Ing. Cagatay Elibol, was carried out under supervision of Prof. Strunk at the Thin Film Laboratory of the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart. This paper is dedicated to the memory of Professor Horst Paul Strunk who passed away six years ago (2015). This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. The authors gratefully thank Dr. G. Richter for useful discussions and co-supervision of the thesis, L. Hofacker for providing the SEM-images used for the determination of the whisker density, Dr. P. Atanasavo for assistance with AFM-investi-gations, G. Maier for assistance with XRD-measurements, C. Kappel for comments and suggestions, R. Völker and I. Lake-meyer for technical assistance.

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Published Online: 2021-11-30

© 2021 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Articles in the same Issue

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  2. Mechanical testing/materialography
  3. Development and properties of austempered low alloyed white cast iron
  4. Mechanical testing/analysis of physical and chemical properties
  5. Preparation and characterization of polydimethylsiloxane-based composite films
  6. Materialography
  7. Investigation of Cu whisker growth by molecular beam epitaxy
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  9. Materials testing for joining and additive manufacturing applications
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  15. Component-oriented testing and simulation
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  17. Mechanical testing/corrosion testing/wear testing
  18. Corrosion of brass subjected to cast-off cooking oil blended with diesel
  19. Optimization of casting parameters for improved mechanical properties of eggshell reinforced composites
  20. Mechanical testing
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  22. Microstructure and mechanical properties of a semi-centrifugal compression processed Al6013 and Cu bimetal
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https://doi.org/10.1515/mt-2021-0047
Keywords for this article
Whisker growth; Cu nanowhiskers; physical vapor deposition; molecular beam epitaxy; scanning tunneling spectroscopy/microscopy

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Contents
  2. Mechanical testing/materialography
  3. Development and properties of austempered low alloyed white cast iron
  4. Mechanical testing/analysis of physical and chemical properties
  5. Preparation and characterization of polydimethylsiloxane-based composite films
  6. Materialography
  7. Investigation of Cu whisker growth by molecular beam epitaxy
  8. Microstructure adjustment of an asymmetric ceramic membrane with high permeation performance
  9. Materials testing for joining and additive manufacturing applications
  10. Manual metal arc welding of dissimilar 30MnB5 and S 235 low alloyed steels for agricultural applications
  11. Failure analysis of simple overlap bonding joints and numerical investigation of the adhered tip geometry effect on the joint strength
  12. Friction welding of high Cr white cast iron to AISI 1030 steel with Ni interlayer
  13. Mechanical testing/corrosion testing/numerical simulations
  14. Pitting and CO2 corrosion behavior of oil and gas pipeline welds
  15. Component-oriented testing and simulation
  16. Optimal design of aerospace structures using recent meta-heuristic algorithms
  17. Mechanical testing/corrosion testing/wear testing
  18. Corrosion of brass subjected to cast-off cooking oil blended with diesel
  19. Optimization of casting parameters for improved mechanical properties of eggshell reinforced composites
  20. Mechanical testing
  21. Impact behavior of natural rubber based syntactic foam core sandwich structures
  22. Microstructure and mechanical properties of a semi-centrifugal compression processed Al6013 and Cu bimetal
  23. Comparative study of destructive, nondestructive, and numerical procedures for the determination of moisture dependent shear moduli in Scots pine wood
  24. Materials testing for civil engineering applications
  25. Effects of rice husk ash on itself activity and concrete behavior at different preparation temperatures
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