Texture change through film thickness and off-axis accommodation of (0Â 0Â 2) planes

► Contrary to the prediction of growth models, the (0 0 2) grains are not completely overlapped by (1 1 1) grains at higher thickness. ► The (0 0 2) grains still constitute the surface, but are tilted away to allow the (1 1 1) planes remain parallel to film surface. ► Intrinsic stress along (1 1 1) and (0 0 2) shows a strong dependence with preferred orientation. ► Results indicate that texture development is a complex interplay between thermodynamic and kinetic forces.