“Cymatics” of selenium and tellurium films deposited in vacuum on vibrating substrates

•New deposition approach for surface shaping of thin films is proposed.•Films of amorphous Se and crystalline Te were deposited at various audible frequencies.•The different audible vibrations cause different films morphology.•Qualitatively the surface changes are the same for both materials.

Amorphous selenium and crystalline tellurium thin films were deposited by frequency assisted thermal deposition in vacuum - a new approach for preparation of thin films based on condensation of the evaporated material on an excited substrate, at which vibrations with audible input frequencies are applied. Frequencies of 0, 50, 150 and 4000 Hz were used. The films crystallographic structure stays intact but an effect depending on the applied frequency was observed. Formation of undulated film surfaces at near infrasonic input frequencies excitement is observed with surface roughness maximum at 50 Hz. The surfaces are highly smooth when a mid-sonic 4 kHz vibration was applied.

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