In-Situ investigation of deposition of ZnS thin films on mica by successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction method as studied by AFM

The growth of ZnS thin films on a mica substrate in a Successive Ionic Layer Adsorption and Reaction (SILAR) process has been studied. The films were deposited in-situ using the commercial AFM liquid cell as flow-through reactor. Reactants and rinsing water were exchanged in the cell continuously by a computer controlled valve system. In this way the film growth could be observed directly in a time resolved sequence of images taken after 1 up to 100 cycles. The results show that the stability of the films increases between 1 and 30 cycles and that a full coverage of the surface is reached after approximately 50 cycles.