Influence of induced local stress on the morphology of porous anodic alumina at the initial stage of oxide growth

Abstract

A characteristic feature of the disordered pore growth at the initial stage of aluminum anodizing is the development of three large groups of pores: the major pores of larger diameter and two groups of minor pores of smaller diameter. The samples were obtained by the electrochemical oxidation of thin aluminum films (100 nm thick) on SiO2/Si substrates in a 0.3 M oxalic acid at 30 V at 5 °C–40 °C. According to SEM studies, the pore distribution by diameter for the films obtained at 20 and 40 °C has three distinct peaks at ca. 13.5, 17.2, and 20.3 nm. The ratio of the diameter of major pores to the diameter of minor pores of group 1 or group 2 is constant and approximately equal to 1.17 and 1.51, respectively. The generation of local compressive stress influences the development of porous morphology. The distribution of zones with high and low compressive stress levels inside hexagonal cells is shown, and their correlation with the porous morphology is confirmed. The generation of local stress and strains in the anodic alumina layer with a porous, cellular structure is associated with local areas with changes in the geometric properties on its surface.