Science of Sintering, 48 (2016) 51-56 ________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________ *) Corresponding author: zlatkora@vinca.rs doi: 10.2298/SOS1601051P UDK 543.42; 546.74 Properties of Zig-Zag Nickel Nanostructures Obtained by GLAD Technique Jelena Potočnik 1 , Miloš Nenadović 1 , Bojan Jokić 2 , Maja Popović 1 , Zlatko Rakočević 1* 1 University of Belgrade, INS Vinča, Laboratory of Atomic Physics, Mike Alasa 12- 14, 11001 Belgrade, Serbia 2 University of Belgrade, Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy, Karnegijeva 4, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia Abstract: Zig-zag structure of the nickel thin film has been obtained using Glancing Angle Deposition (GLAD) technique. Glass substrate was positioned 75 degrees with respect to the substrate normal. The obtained nickel thin film was characterized by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy and Atomic Force Microscopy. Surface energy of the deposited thin film was determined by measuring the contact angle using the static sessile drop method. Keywords: Glancing Angle Deposition, XPS, AFM, Nickel thin film. 1. Introduction Glancing Angle Deposition (GLAD) is a technique for producing nanostructured thin films. In this method, the substrate can be rotated about two axes, as illustrated in Fig. 1 (left side). Rotation about one axis is changing the angle of the incident particle flux (tilt motor) while the rotating about the other one controls the structure of the deposited film (rotation motor) [3]. The motors that are connected to the computer control the movements about both axes. Controlled substrate motion allows producing predictable forms of nanostructures [4]. Obtained columnar nanostructures are inclined toward the direction of the incident particle flux. These structures may take form of slanted and vertical posts [5,6], helices [7] or zig-zag [8] columns. Schematic illustration of the growth of columnar structures is given on the right side in Fig. 1. The formation of the nucleus from the arriving particle flux is a random process. Nuclei grow into columns giving rise to the development of the shadowing. Since the columns are not equal in size, as a result, some columns will screen their neighbors from the incoming particle flux. Because of this effect, shadowed columns will stop growing. For small angles of the incident particle flux, the roughness of the substrate and the shadowing effect are very important for the formation of columnar structures. The columns tilt angle (β) is smaller than the incident particle flux angle (α) and its value can be obtained using equation [9]: ⎟ ⎠ ⎞ ⎜ ⎝ ⎛ − − = 2 cos 1 arcsin α α β .