Texture development and twinning in polycrystalline gold thin films

Gold thin films have a {111} texture component that strengthens during heating. We show that this texture can be affected by the formation of twins, which may be influenced by the substrate material. Gold thin films were evaporated onto rock salt and glass substrates, and incrementally annealed without removal from the substrate. The texture was mapped using an area detector x-ray diffractometer. The films showed a primary {111} fiber texture and a secondary {200} fiber texture on both substrates with the addition of a {511} fiber texture component, which is much more pronounced on rock salt than on other substrates. The {511} surface normal derives from a twin rotation, showing that there is more twinning on rock salt than on glass although there is no lattice matching between the rock salt and gold.