Ni overlayers on biaxially textured Ni-alloy and Cu substrates by DC sputtering

Use of many Ni-based and Cu-based alloys requires deposition of a Ni overlayer prior to the deposition of the seed layer in order to obtain better epitaxy. In this work, Ni overlayers have been deposited by DC sputtering on biaxially textured NiW and Cu substrates. Films were characterized by x-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy as a function of temperature, film thickness and deposition rate. The optimum temperature range for deposition was found to be around 400-500 °C, which results in relatively smooth films with a good cube texture on both substrates.