XPS and x-ray diffraction characterization of thin Co-Al-N alloy films prepared by reactive sputtering deposition

✍ Scribed by Asami, K.; Ohnuma, S.; Masumoto, T.

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1998
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 368 KB
• Volume: 26
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0142-2421
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1096-9918(199808)26:9<659::aid-sia412>3.0.co;2-z

✦ Synopsis

Thin

(x = 0-30 at.% ) alloy Ðlms prepared by a reactive radio frequency (r.f.) sputtering (Co 0.8 Al 0.2 ) 100-x N x method were characterized by XPS and x-ray di †raction (XRD). The Ðlm with no nitrogen consisted of a CsCltype CoAl metallic compound, while the nitrogen-containing alloys were composed of very Ðne AlN and facecentred cubic (fcc) Co phases. The quantitative XPS analysis under an assumption of uniform distribution of all the elements resulted in much lower concentrations of Co and higher concentrations of Al and N in comparison with the bulk composition for the nitrogen-containing alloys. By taking account of the granular structure of the alloy Ðlms, i.e. the nanoscale particles of fcc Co embedded in the AlN compound, the results of quantitative XPS analysis were explained successfully. Moreover, the thickness of the AlN layer and the size of the fcc Co particles were also able to be estimated under the nanoscale structure models. The results were in good agreement with observation by transmission electron microscopy, especially when a nanostructure model was adopted where nanoscale Co-N particles are dispersed in AlN matrix in a simple cubic-like arrangement.