Manipulating the column tilt angles of nanocolumnar films by glancing-angle deposition

Abstract

Nanometre-size cobalt columns with tilt angle ranging from ∼0º to ∼40º and fixed density on Si(100) were fabricated by combining oblique-angle physical evaporation with controlled substrate motion. The column tilt angle can be controlled by the speed and phase of substrate rotation in addition to the angle of the incident vapour beam. A simple geometrical model is proposed to describe the relationship between the tilt angle of the cobalt columns and the rotational parameters (speed and phase), and is consistent with our experimental results.