What is the orientation of the gold surface on the substrates (what lattice plane is up)?
On several substrates (glass, mica) evaporated gold shows a significant tendency, but not an absolute driver, to assume a <111> orientation, which can be greatly enhanced if the coating is properly annealed for a few hours at around 450°C. Deposited onto Silicon (100), however, the gold coating appears to be highly polycrystalline, with <111> orientation being perhaps marginally preferred. Please note that this information is derived from the literature (see below).
