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Measuring Thickness Changes in Thin Films Due to Chemical Reaction by Monitoring the Surface Roughness with In Situ Atomic Force Microscopy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 November 2002

L.Y. Beaulieu ,
A.D. Rutenberg  and
J.R. Dahn
L.Y. Beaulieu
Affiliation:
Physics Department, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 3J5, Canada
A.D. Rutenberg
Affiliation:
Physics Department, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 3J5, Canada
J.R. Dahn
Affiliation:
Physics Department, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 3J5, Canada Chemistry Department, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 3J5, Canada
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Abstract

Measuring the changing thickness of a thin film, without a reference, using an atomic force microscope (AFM) is problematic. Here, we report a method for measuring film thickness based on in situ monitoring of surface roughness of films as their thickness changes. For example, in situ AFM roughness measurements have been performed on alloy film electrodes on rigid substrates as they react with lithium electrochemically. The addition (or removal) of lithium to (or from) the alloy causes the latter to expand (or contract) reversibly in the direction perpendicular to the substrate and, in principle, the change in the overall height of these materials is directly proportional to the change in roughness. If the substrate on which the film is deposited is not perfectly smooth, a correction to the direct proportionality is needed and this is also discussed.

Keywords

alloy film electrodesatomic force microscopeexpansion and contractionLi-ion batterysurface roughnessthin film thicknessvolume changes
Type
MATERIALS APPLICATIONS
Information
Microscopy and Microanalysis , Volume 8 , Issue 5 , October 2002 , pp. 422 - 428
Copyright
2002 Microscopy Society of America

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