S. Hazra^1*, A. Gibaud¹ and C. Sella^2
1 Laboratoire de Physique de l'Etat Condensé, UPRESA 6087 CNRS, Faculté des Sciences, Université du Maine, 72085 Le Mans, France
² Laboratoire d'Optique des Solides, Université de Paris VI, Case 80, 4 Place Jussieu, 75252 Paris, France

Morphology of nanocermet thin films deposited on substrates having different roughness has been studied by surface sensitive x-ray scattering techniques. Grazing incidence small angle scattering data of the films shows that the nanoparticles, which are present in the ceramic matrix, exhibit a specific average interparticle separation. Analysis of the x-ray reflectivity indicates that in the films deposited on smooth substrates, the nanoparticles adopt some layering along the growth direction. This layering tends to diminish with increasing substrate roughness and vanish completely for very high substrate roughness. The variation of such layering with substrate roughness is an indication that it starts close to the substrate and is an effect of substrate boundary condition.

^*Present address: Surface Physics Division, Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, 1/AF Bidhannagar, Kolkata 700 064, India