Thin Solid Films, Vol.241, No.1-2, 12-15, 1994
Highly Pressurized Kr Agglomerates in Sputtered Si Films
High resolution electron microscopy experiments are presented for a plasma-sputter-deposited Si film with a high Kr concentration. The amorphous layer deposited shows an oscillating Kr concentration. The Kr resides in very small agglomerates of size < 1 nm. Bending measurements show that the pressure in the Kr agglomerates is very high, 3.9 GPa. Hardness measurements show that this pressure is limited by the fracture stress of the deposited film.