Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-ndw9j Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-05T15:09:47.165Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Phase Separation During Film Deposition

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 February 2011

M. Atzmon
Affiliation:
Dept. of Nuclear Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109.
C. D. Adams
Affiliation:
Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109.
Y.-T. Cheng
Affiliation:
General Motors Research Laboratories, Physical Chemistry Dept., Warren, MI 48090-9055.
D. J. Srolovitz
Affiliation:
Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109.
Get access

Abstract

We report a study of the microstructure and surface morphology of co-deposited Al-Ge films. At 200 °C and above, the terminal solid solutions are obtained, whereas at lower temperatures, metastable amorphous or crystalline phases coexist with the Al-rich terminal phase. For film thickness below 200 nm, lateral phase separation is observed with surface grooving which reflects the bulk microstructure. Analysis of the data with a model for the diffusion process shows that the results are consistent with a surface diffusion mechanism. For thicker films, there is a transition into a layered microstructure in which Al segregates to the surface. This transition is explained in terms of the surface and interfacial energies of the phases.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1991

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

1. Movchan, B. A. and Demchishin, A. V., Phys. Met. Metallogr. 28, 83 (1969).Google Scholar
2. Binary Alloy Phase Diagrams, ed. Massalski, T. B., (ASM, Metals Park 1986), p. 116.Google Scholar
3. Koster, U., Z. Metallk. 63, 472 (1972).Google Scholar
4. See, e.g., Cottrell, A., An Introduction to Metallurgy, (Arnold, London 1975), p. 340.Google Scholar
5. Cahn, J. W., Acta Met. 7, 18 (1959).Google Scholar
6. Kessler, D. and Levine, H., Phys. Rev. A39, 3041 (1989), andGoogle Scholar
Dombre, T. and Hakim, V., Phys. Rev. A36, 2811 (1987).Google Scholar
7. Vollin, T. E., and Balluffi, R. W., Phys. Stat. Solidi 25, 163, (1968).Google Scholar
8. Burke, J., and Ramachandran, T. R., Met. Trans. 3, 147–55, (1972).Google Scholar
9. Widmer, H. and Gunther-Mohr, G. R., Helv. Phys. Acta., 34, 635, (1961).Google Scholar
10. Peterson, N. L. and Rothman, S. J., Phys. Rev. B1, 3264, (1970).Google Scholar
11. Ya Pines, B. and Zyman, Z. Z., Fiz. Metal. Metalloved 25, 840 (1968).Google Scholar