Structural and morphological characterization of chemically deposited silver films

Silver thin films were deposited on glass slide substrates at room temperature by the chemical bath deposition (CBD) technique, using silver nitrate (AgNO3) as Ag+1 source and triethanolamine [(N(CH2CH2OH)3)] as the complex reductor agent. We determined the conditions of the CBD process to obtain homogeneous, opaque silver films with good adhesion to the substrate and white coloration. The silver films were studied by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy. The results show that the films are composed of several layers with different morphology depending on the deposition time. In all the cases, the crystalline structure of the films was the face cubic centered phase with a moderate [111] texture. Strains and stresses were calculated by the Vook–Witt grain interaction model.