The Importance of Threading Dislocations on the Motion of Domain Boundaries in Thin Films
Farid El Gabaly,1
Wai Li W. Ling,2
Kevin F. McCarty,2
Juan de la Figuera1*
Thin films often present domain structures whose detailed evolution
is a subject of debate. We analyze the evolution of copper films,
which contain both rotational and stacking domains, on ruthenium.
Real-time observation by low-energy electron microscopy shows
that the stacking domains evolve in a seemingly complex way.
Not only do the stacking boundaries move in preferred directions,
but their motion is extremely uneven and they become stuck when
they reach rotational boundaries. We show that this behavior
occurs because the stacking-boundary motion is impeded by threading
dislocations. This study underscores how the coarse-scale evolution
of thin films can be controlled by defects.
2 Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, CA 94550, USA.
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: juan.delafiguera{at}uam.es
