en Research Paper Research Paper <span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:150%"><span calibri="" style="font-family:"><span lang="EN-US" new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""><span style="background-color:#ffffff;">Series of </span><span style="background:yellow"><span style="background-color:#ffffff;">cobalt (Co)</span></span><span style="background-color:#ffffff;"> thin films with various thicknesses ranging from 50 to 400 nm have been fabricated using thermal heating under vacuum. We explore the impact of the </span></span><span lang="EN-US" new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""><span style="background-color:#ffffff;">thickness layer on the structural and morphological properties of the films. X-Ray diffractions and atomic force microscopy tools have been used to carry out the structural and the morphological properties of these films. </span></span><span lang="EN-US" new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""><span style="background-color:#ffffff;">The films are principally c-axis oriented,</span></span><span lang="EN-US" new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""><span style="background-color:#ffffff;"> polycrystalline and with </span><i><span style="background-color:#ffffff;"><</span></i><span style="background-color:#ffffff;">0001</span><i><span style="background-color:#ffffff;">> </span></i><span style="background-color:#ffffff;">texture</span></span><span lang="EN-US" new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""><span style="background-color:#ffffff;">.</span></span><span style="background-color:#ffffff;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""><span style="background-color:#ffffff;">The crystallites sizes have been found to range from </span></span><span lang="EN-US" new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""><span style="background-color:#ffffff;">18.40</span></span><span lang="EN-US" new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""><span style="background-color:#ffffff;"> to </span></span><span lang="EN-US" new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""><span style="background-color:#ffffff;">79.46</span></span><span lang="EN-US" new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""><span style="background-color:#ffffff;"> nm, and they increase with increasing thickness. </span></span><span lang="EN-US" new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""><span style="background-color:#ffffff;">The ratio c/a value indicates that </span></span><span lang="EN-US" new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""><span style="background-color:#ffffff;">Co films are subject to a </span><i><span style="background-color:#ffffff;">tensile</span></i><span style="background-color:#ffffff;"> stress, </span></span><span lang="EN" new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""><span style="background-color:#ffffff;">probably because of the way the film grows</span></span><span lang="EN-US" new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""><span style="background-color:#ffffff;">. The microstrain is positive and ranges from </span></span><span lang="EN-US" new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""><span style="background-color:#ffffff;">1.53 to 3.56%</span></span><span lang="EN-US" new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""><span style="background-color:#ffffff;">. </span></span><span lang="EN-US" new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""><span style="background-color:#ffffff;">Atomic force microscopy observations indicate the</span></span><span lang="EN-US" new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""><span style="background-color:#ffffff;"> formation of crystallites according to the Stranski-Krastanov mode</span></span><span lang="EN-US" new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""><span style="background-color:#ffffff;">. The films topographical surfaces are very smooth, the average root mean square roughness ranging from 0.2 to 1.5 nm.&nbsp; </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"></span></span></span></span><br> <span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:150%"><span calibri="" style="font-family:"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="line-height:150%"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""><span style="background-color:#ffffff;">Keywords</span></span></span></span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="line-height:150%"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""><span style="background-color:#ffffff;">:</span></span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""><span style="background-color:#ffffff;"> Co; Thin films; XRD; Crystallite size; AFM.</span></span></span></span></span><br> <br> <span style="background-color:#ffffff;">&nbsp;</span> Thin films,XRD,Crystallite size,AFM.,Co 27 36 http://ijmse.iust.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-5637-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Ahmed KHARMOUCHE kharmouche_ahmed@yahoo.fr 1800319475328460019579 1800319475328460019579 Yes SETIF1 University Ferhat ABBAS