In this presentation, we will report on the orientation relationships (ORs) and the interface morphology of copper particles equilibrated on the a-(2-1-10)-plane and m-(10-10)-plane of sapphire substrates. Equilibration of the copper particles with the sapphire was achieved at 1253 K under an Ar-20%H2 atmosphere either by solid-state dewetting or after liquid-state dewetting of copper films.
Electron backscatter diffraction was used to determine the ORs between copper and sapphire: for the a-plane of sapphire, there is one preferred OR which is Cu(111)||Al2O3(2 -1-1 0) and Cu[1-10] within ±5º from Al2O3[0001]; for the m-plane of sapphire there are two preferred ORs: Cu(311)||Al2O3(10-10) and Cu[01-1] within ±5º of Al2O3[0001], and Cu(881)||Al2O3(10-10) and Cu[01-1] within ±5º of Al2O3[0001]. These three ORs are identical: indeed, when one (111) plane of a copper crystal is parallel to the (2-1-10) plane of sapphire, then either its (311) or (881) planes are parallel to the (10-10) plane of sapphire.
Scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy and high resolution transmission microscopy were used to analyze the morphology of the copper-sapphire interface and of the sapphire surface in the vicinity of the triple line. The copper crystals tend to adopt their equilibrium shape, which significantly deviates from a simple truncated copper Wulff shape sitting on a flat sapphire surface. On the a-substrate, the interface remains flat but at a slightly lower level than the sapphire surface and small anisotropic ridges are formed at the triple line of the copper particles. The interface between the m-sapphire and the copper particles turns into a fully faceted hole and pronounced ridges surround the particles at the triple line. We will discuss the role of the interfacial facets on the OR adopted by the copper crystals on the m-plane of sapphire.