Dynamic Scaling in Growth of ZrO₂ Thin Films Prepared by Electronic Beam Evaporation

The growth front evolution of ZrO₂ thin films deposited by electronic beam evaporation has been studied with atomic force microscopy. The dynamic scaling characteristics are observed during the deposition process. After numerical correlation analysis, the roughness exponent α = 0.80±0.005 and the growth exponent β = 0.141 are all obtained. Based on these results, we suggest that the growth of ZrO₂ thin films can be described by the combination of the Edwards-Wilkinson equation, the Mullins diffusion equation and the shadowing effect.