TEM studies of solid-state reactions in sputter-deposited Nb/Al multilayer thin films

Author(s):  
F. Ma ◽  
S. Vivekanand ◽  
K. Barmak ◽  
C. Michaelsen

Solid state reactions in sputter-deposited Nb/Al multilayer thin films have been studied by transmission and analytical electron microscopy (TEM/AEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The Nb/Al multilayer thin films for TEM studies were sputter-deposited on (1102)sapphire substrates. The periodicity of the films is in the range 10-500 nm. The overall composition of the films are 1/3, 2/1, and 3/1 Nb/Al, corresponding to the stoichiometric composition of the three intermetallic phases in this system.Figure 1 is a TEM micrograph of an as-deposited film with periodicity A = dA1 + dNb = 72 nm, where d's are layer thicknesses. The polycrystalline nature of the Al and Nb layers with their columnar grain structure is evident in the figure. Both Nb and Al layers exhibit crystallographic texture, with the electron diffraction pattern for this film showing stronger diffraction spots in the direction normal to the multilayer. The X-ray diffraction patterns of all films are dominated by the Al(l 11) and Nb(l 10) peaks and show a merging of these two peaks with decreasing periodicity.

2013 ◽  
Vol 535 ◽  
pp. 73-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Yoo ◽  
R.A. Wibowo ◽  
A. Hölzing ◽  
R. Lechner ◽  
J. Palm ◽  
...  

2002 ◽  
Vol 404-407 ◽  
pp. 791-796
Author(s):  
Pascale Villain ◽  
Philippe Goudeau ◽  
Pierre Olivier Renault ◽  
K.F. Badawi

2013 ◽  
Vol 743-744 ◽  
pp. 910-914
Author(s):  
Ting Han ◽  
Geng Rong Chang ◽  
Yun Jin Sun ◽  
Fei Ma ◽  
Ke Wei Xu

Si/C multilayer thin films were prepared by magnetron sputtering and post-annealing in N2 atmosphere at 1100 for 1h. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman scattering and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) were applied to study the microstructures of the thin films. For the case of Si/C modulation ratio smaller than 1,interlayer diffusion is evident, which promotes the formation of α-SiC during thermal annealing. If the modulation ratio is larger than 1, the Si sublayers are partially crystallized, and the thicker the Si sublayers are, the crystallinity increases. To be excited, brick-shaped nc-Si is directly observed by HRTEM. The brick-shaped nc-Si appears to be more regular near the Si (100) substrate but with twin defects. The results are instructive in the application of solar cells.


1986 ◽  
Vol 77 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. Hensel ◽  
J. M. Vandenberg ◽  
L. F. Mattheiss ◽  
F. C. Unterwald ◽  
A. Maury

ABSTRACTThe formation of TiSi2 thin films on Si has been investigated by in situ x-ray diffraction and by electrical transport. The x-ray results show unequivocally that the staging proceeds through two orthorhombic polytypes of TiSi2 according to the sequence: sputter-deposited metallic Ti films on Si (001) → TiSi2 (C49 structure) → TiSi2 (C54 structure), with no evidence of lower suicides. Electrical transport shows metallic behavior for all phases and distinctive features in the annealing curves which correlate with the structural transformations. Most importantly, the resistivity, characteristically very high for the C49 phase, undergoes a precipitous drop at the C49 → C54 transition. Total energies for both phases are calculated and, consistent with the occurrence of a structural phase transformation, are found not to differ appreciably.


2005 ◽  
Vol 900 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Deptuła ◽  
Kenneth C Goretta ◽  
Tadeusz Olczak ◽  
Wieslawa Lada ◽  
Andrzej G. Chmielewski ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTTitanium oxide and titanates based on Ba, Sr and Ca were prepared from commercial solutions of TiCl4 and HNO3. The main preparation steps for the sols consisted of elimination of chloride anions by distillation with nitric acid and addition of metal hydroxides for the titanates. Resulting sols were gelled and used to (1) prepare irregularly shaped powders by evaporation; (2) produce by a dipping technique thin films on glass, Ag, or Ti substrates; and (3) produce spherical powders (diameters <100 μm) by solvent extraction. Results of thermal and X-ray-diffraction analyses indicated that the temperatures required to form the various compounds were lower than those necessary to form the compounds by conventional solid-state reactions and comparable to those required with use of organometallic based sol-gel methods. Temperatures of formation could be further reduced by addition of ascorbic acid to the sols.


1994 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 648-657 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.S. Chen ◽  
E. Kolawa ◽  
M-A. Nicolet ◽  
R.P. Ruiz ◽  
L. Baud ◽  
...  

Thermally induced solid-state reactions between a 70 nm Pt film and a single-crystal (001) β-SiC substrate at temperatures from 300 °C to 1000 °C for various time durations are investigated by 2 MeV He backscattering spectrometry, x-ray diffraction, secondary ion mass spectrometry, scanning electron microscopy, and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy. Backscattering spectrometry shows that Pt reacts with SiC at 500 °C. The product phase identified by x-ray diffraction is Pt3Si. At 600–900 °C, the main reaction product is Pt2Si, but the depth distribution of the Pt atoms changes with annealing temperature. When the sample is annealed at 1000 °C, the surface morphology deteriorates with the formation of some dendrite-like hillocks; both Pt2Si and PtSi are detected by x-ray diffraction. Samples annealed at 500–900 °C have a double-layer structure with a silicide surface layer and a carbon-silicide mixed layer below in contact with the substrate. The SiC—Pt interaction is resolved at an atomic scale with high-resolution electron microscopy. It is found that the grains of the sputtered Pt film first align themselves preferentially along an orientation of {111}Pt//{001}SiC without reaction between Pt and SiC. A thin amorphous interlayer then forms at 400 °C. At 450 °C, a new crystalline phase nucleates discretely at the Pt-interlayer interface and projects into or across the amorphous interlayer toward the SiC, while the undisturbed amorphous interlayer between the newly formed crystallites maintains its thickness. These nuclei grow extensively down into the substrate region at 500 °C, and the rest of the Pt film is converted to Pt3Si. Comparison between the thermal reaction of SiC-Pt and that of Si–Pt is discussed.


1997 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 3165-3173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hsin-Yi Lee ◽  
Tai-Bor Wu

X-ray reflectivity and diffraction were applied to characterize the highly (100)-textured thin films of LaNiO3, which were deposited on Si substrate via radio frequency magnetron sputtering at temperatures ranging from 250 to 450 °C. Two interference fringes of different period were observed from the reflectivity curves, and the fitting result indicates that in addition to the normal lanthanum-nickel oxide layer, a transition layer, which has a larger mass density than the previous one, exists in the sputter-deposited films. A comparison of the measured x-ray diffraction intensity with that calculated from layer thickness and mass density obtained from reflectivity data indicates that the transition layer is noncrystalline. The x-ray diffraction result also shows that there is a significant decrease of (100) diffraction intensity relative to that of (200) as increasing the deposition temperature. Using the reflectivity and diffraction data along with results of electron diffraction and film composition analysis from our other studies, such a change of relative intensity between the two diffraction peaks is attributed to the increasing content of two also highly textured La-rich phases, i.e., (110)-textured La4Ni3O10 and (100)-textured La2NiO4, in addition to the LaNiO3.


1995 ◽  
Vol 398 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Barmak ◽  
S. Vivekanand ◽  
F. Ma ◽  
C. Michaelsen

ABSTRACTThe formation of the first phase in the reaction of sputter-deposited Nb/Al multilayer thin films has been studied by power-compensated and heat-flux differential scanning calorimetry, x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The modulation periods of the films are in the range of 10-500 nm. Both types of calorimetrie measurements, performed at a constant heating rate, show the presence of two peaks (A and B) for the formation of the single product phase, NbAl3. Isothermal calorimetrie scans show that peak A is associated with a nucleation and growth type transformation. The formation of NbAl3 is thus interpreted as a two-stage process of nucleation and lateral growth to coalescence (peak A) followed by normal growth until the consumption of one or both reactants (peak B). Transmission electron microscopy investigations of samples annealed into the first stage of NbAl3 formation show the presence of this phase at the Nb/Al interface and its preferential growth along the grain boundaries of the Al layer. The latter highlights the role of reactant phase grain structure in product phase formation.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document