Ion-beam induced mixing in Al-Ni

Ion beam induced mixing of Al-Ni has been studied using N ₂ ⁺ and Ar⁺ bombardment. High dose (4×10¹⁷ ions cm^–2) nitrogen bombardment was found to cause blister formation with no unambiguous evidence of mixing. However, using argon ions at elevated substrate temperatures (400–450 °C) led to extensive mixing of 2000 Å Al layers on Ni. The mixing mechanism is considered to be point defect mediated radiation enhanced diffusion with a possible contribution from cascade mixing and interfacial oxide layer breakdown during the initial stages of treatment.     

Ion beam induced atomic mixing in Fe/Al bilayered samples

Atomic mixing of Fe/Al bilayered samples induced by an energetic xenon beam has been studied by RBS-TEM and sheet resistivity measurements. Mixing is detected at 2.5 × 10¹⁵ Xe/cm² and then proceeds up to 2 × 10¹⁶ Xe/cm². A blocking effect of the mixing for larger doses is observed. Homogeneous concentration is not obtained across the sample. Instead a pronounced graded composition is reached. Several explanations of the mixing process and the subsequent blocking effect are suggested: — sharp gradients in the nuclear energy deposition profile which decrease with dose — grain growth phenomena — precipitation of crystalline xenon acting as efficient annihilation sinks for vacancies.     

Formation of copper/gold solid solutions by ion beam mixing

The formation of copper/gold solid solutions due to ion beam mixing was studied by Rutherford backscattering, high-voltage electron microscopy and transmission high-energy electron diffraction. Irradiation of multilayered Cu/Au thin films were performed with Xe⁺ ions or Ar⁺ ions at room temperature to doses ranging from 5×10¹⁵ to 2.5×10¹⁶ ions/cm² and energies from 100 to 300 keV. The ion beam mixing leads to uniformly mixed metal layers. The grain size of mixed layers is pronounced increase. It was found that Cu/Au solid solutions are formed with different composition in dependence on itinial composition and implantation dose. Cu-rich and Au-rich solid solutions are induced by ion beam mixing at an initial composition Cu _x Au_100–x withx70. In addition to these solid solutions, a solid solution of middle composition Cu₆₀...₄₀Au₄₀...₆₀ is formed for an initial composition withx<70. The kinetics of formation of solid solution is discussed as a function of the initial composition and implantation dose. Post-annealing experiments of mixed Cu₅₀Au₅₀ multilayers lead to lattice transformations and provide a superlattice structure CuAuI of the L1₀-type. With this process of ordering is associated the formation of dislocation loops.     

Modification of thin oxide films on Be,Si, Al,Ti, Zr,and W under bombardment by He<Superscript>+</Superscript> and Ar<Superscript>+</Superscript> ion beams with a broad energy spectrum

Data on the distribution of Be, Al, Ti, Fe, Cu, Zr, Mo, and W atoms implanted in oxide film on metal substrates by ion mixing under the action of He⁺ and Ar⁺ ion beams with a broad energy spectrum, with average energy of 10 keV, and with radiation doses up to 1 × 10²¹ ion/cm² are presented. It is shown that layers with different concentration gradients of implanted atoms form in a thin oxide layer due to simultaneous implantation, but their concentration decreases dramatically to the background value at the oxide-metal interface. Analysis of experimental data suggests that the migration of implanted atoms takes place by means of the diffusion mechanism and is determined by the parameters of physicochemical interaction of implanted atoms with substrate atoms.     

Growth of Ni-Al alloys on Ni(1 1 1): (I) Formation of epitaxial Ni3Al from ultra-thin Al deposits

In this paper we describe the alloying process of ultra-thin Al layers (below 8 × 10¹⁵ Al/cm²) deposited on Ni(1 1 1). For this purpose Auger electron spectroscopy, low energy electron diffraction, and ion beam analysis-channelling measurements have been performed in situ in an ultra-high vacuum chamber. Al deposits formed at low temperature (about 130 K) are strained defective crystalline layers retaining the substrate orientation. Alloying takes place, with very progressive Ni enrichment, in a very broad temperature range between 250 K and 570 K. This feature shows that diffusion of the alloy species is more and more difficult when the Ni concentration increases. At 570 K a crystallographically and chemically ordered Ni₃Al phase is formed, and its order continuously improves upon annealing, up to 750 K. We have shown by ion beam methods that this alloy is three-dimensional, extending up to 16 (1 1 1) planes for the thickest deposits. The Ni₃Al phase can also be obtained directly by Al deposition at 750 K, but its crystalline quality is lower and the layer is probably formed of grains elongated along 〈1 1 −2〉 directions. The Al content of the thin Ni₃Al layers formed mostly dissolves in the bulk above 800 K. However a small amount of Al remains segregated at the Ni crystal surface.     

SHI induced silicide formation and surface morphology at Co/Si system

Ion beam mixing is a useful technique to produce modifications at the surface and interface of the solid material. In the present work, ion beam induced modifications at Co/Si interface using 120 MeV Au-ion irradiation has been studied at ion fluences in the range of 10¹² to 10¹⁴ ions/cm² by secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) technique and calculated mixing efficiency at the interface. Silicide formation has been discussed on the basis of swift heavy ion (SHI) irradiation induced effects. Surface morphology and roughness of irradiated system with fluence 5 × 10¹³ and 1 × 10¹⁴ ions/cm² is studied by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). Roughness of the surface shows marks of melting process and confirms the appearance of some pinholes in the reacted Co/Si system. Comparative study was also undertaken on annealed sample at 300 °C and then irradiated at a dose 1 × 10¹⁴ ions/cm².     

Mechanisms of ion-beam-enhanced diffusion in amorphous silicon

We have investigated ion-beam-enhanced diffusion of Au in undoped and B doped amorphous Si. The diffusion coefficients depend linearly on ion flux and exibit an Arrhenius-like temperature dependence with an activation energy of 0.37 eV in the temperature range 200–350° C. Moreover the diffusivity is enhanced by a factor of 5 by B-doping at a concentration of 1×10²⁰ atoms/cm³. A similar enhancement is observed in thermal diffusion of Au which has an activation energy of 1.5 eV. On the basis of these results a model for the ion-beam-enhanced diffusion of Au is proposed where the high density of defects present in amorphous Si act as traps for the fast moving interstitial Au atoms. The effectiveness of this trapping process can be changed by the high concentration of mobile defects generated by the beam and also by a change in the charge state of the traps induced by the presence of B.     

Interdiffusion studies in Bi-based layered systems with nanosecond laser pulses

Interdiffusion processes are induced by nanosecond laser pulses from an excimer laser. The Bi-based systems studied are formed by a Bi layer and a Sb or Ge layer. Configurations with Bi at the surface layer or at the innermost layer are both studied. Real-time reflectivity measurements are performed during the irradiation to determine the process kinetics and times and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry is used to obtain the concentration depth profiles. It will be shown that there is an interfacially initiated diffusion process in the Bi-Sb system and that the diffusion coefficients of this system within the liquid phase are in the 10^–5–10^–6 cm²/s range. The Bi-Ge system shows instead little mixing, the diffusion coefficients of the system within the liquid phase being at least two orders of magnitude lower. The differences observed when Bi is the surface layer or the innermost one are related to the different thermal responses of the system.     

Ion irradiation induced evolution of nanostructure in a graded multi-trilayer system

Nanostructural modifications in a double-graded Pt/Ni/C multi-trilayer, due to irradiation by an energetic ion-beam, have been analyzed using X-ray reflectivity (XRR), X-ray standing wave (XSW) and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (X-TEM) techniques. 2 MeV Au²⁺ ions were rastered on Pt/Ni/C multi-trilayer samples producing a uniformly irradiated area at ion-fluences ranging from 1 × 10¹⁴ ions/cm² to 2 × 10¹⁵ ions/cm². Ion irradiation induced modifications of microstructural parameters, e.g., layer thicknesses and electron densities of individual layers and interface roughnesses have been obtained from XRR analysis. Pt- and Ni-fluorescence yield from the as-deposited sample under the XSW condition show the distinct existence of Pt and Ni layers. The almost indistinguishable Pt- and Ni-fluorescence data over the first order Bragg peak from the sample irradiated at the highest ion-fluence, suggest complete mixing of Pt and Ni. Strong mixing between Pt and Ni in the ion irradiated samples is also corroborated by XRR results. X-TEM studies reveal the individual layer structure in the as-deposited sample. This layer structure is lost in the sample irradiated at the highest ion fluence indicating a complete mixing between Pt and Ni layers and nanoscale grain growth of Pt-Ni alloys. Additionally, formation of Pt-Ni alloy nano-clusters in the C-layers is observed. The results are understood in the light of the positive heat of mixing between Pt and C, and Ni and C and the negative heat of mixing between Pt and Ni. The effect of heat of mixing becomes dominant at high fluence irradiation.     

Mo/Si体系的离子束混合机制研究

本文采用卢瑟福背散射(RBS)分析技术详细测量了Mo/Si体系在Ar⁺和Xe⁷⁺离子束轰击下界面混合和反应随温度、剂量和剂量率的依赖关系。得到了许多新的结果。结果表明,以前的空位扩散机制、单级联间隙原子扩散机制和热峰模型都不能解释Mo/Si体系的离子束混合。我们结合固体扩散理论提出了间隙原子扩散和反应机制,圆满地解释了实验结果。 关键词：     

Ripple topography on thin ZnO films by grazing and oblique incidence ion sputtering

We have investigated the formation and growth of nano sized ripple topography on ZnO thin films by 10 keV O¹⁺ bombardment at impact angles of 80° and 60°, varying the ion fluence from 5 × 10¹⁶ to 1 × 10¹⁸ ions/cm². At 80° the ripples are oriented along the ion beam direction whereas at 60° it is perpendicular to the ion beam direction. The developed ion induced structures are characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and the alignment, variation of rms roughness, wavelength and correlation length of the structures are discussed with the existing model and basic concept of ion surface interaction.     

A conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopy study of ion beam mixing at Fe: Polyethylene interface

The effects of ion beam induced atomic mixing at the Fe-Polyethylene interface have been investigated by means of conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopy [CEMS]. It is shown that the as deposited and ion beam mixed composites exhibit distinctly different features. In particular, the ion beam mixed composite shows that presence of Fe²⁺ state in polyethylene matrix along with the Fe?C austenite like phase.     

Ion-beam induced mixing of Cu/Au bilayer thin film (kinematics and formation of solid solutions)

Ion-beam induced atomic mixing of Cu/Au bilayer thin film is studied using combined electrical resistivity measurements and Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry (RBS). 400 keV Kr⁺ ion irradiation with fluences ranging from 3.3×10¹⁵ to 7.6×10¹⁶ ions/cm² at room temperature have been used. Ion beam mixing lead to a uniformly mixed metal alloy. The formation of Cu/Au solid solutions depends on the initial composition and on the fluence of irradiating ions. For an initial composition of Cu₄₂Au₅₈, a Cu-rich solid solution of composition Cu₇₂Au₂₈ is formed after irradiation with 7.6×10¹⁶ ions/cm². The kinematics of the intermixing process is also studied by in situ electrical resistivity measurements which confirmed the formation of the Cu/Au solid solutions.     

Ion beam mixing of Pt marker layers in Al

We have studied the ion beam mixing of Pt marker layers which were 1 nm thick and buried 55 nm deep in Al. The samples were irradiated with Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe, and Pb ions with ion energies ranging from 75 to 600 keV and damage energy densities from 0.17 to 2.0 keV/nm. The depth distributions of both the implanted ions and the marker atoms were measured with Rutherford backscattering spectrometry. The experimental mixing efficiency of = 0.856(24) nm⁵/keV is about ten times as high as was to be expected from the ballistic model and the local spike models. We suggest a connection between this unexpectedly high mixing efficiency and the vanishing primary solid solubility of the marker element in the host matrix.     

Structural Transformations in Fe/Zr Bi- and Multilayers Induced by Ion-Beam Mixing

The Ar-ion-beam mixing of Fe/Zr bi- and multilayers is studied by conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopy as a function of ion dose ranging from 1×10¹⁴ to 1×10¹⁷ at./cm². The mixing leads to amorphization of the Fe/Zr system. It was shown that the mixing process in bilayers depends strongly on the thickness of the Zr substrate. The amorphization is much more effective and occurs at lower ion doses in multilayers as compared to corresponding bilayers.     

Electrical transport characteristic of carbon nanotube after mass-separated ultra-low-energy oxygen ion beams irradiation

Mass-separated ultra-low-energy oxygen ion beams were irradiated to the single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) under an ultra-high-vacuum pressure of 10⁻⁷ Pa for the purpose of achieving n-type conduction of nanotubes. The ion beam energy was 25 eV, which was close to the displacement energy of graphite. The incident angle of the ion beam was normal to the target nanotube. The ion dose ranged from 3.3 × 10¹¹ to 3.8 × 10¹² ions/cm². The structure of SWCNTs after the ion irradiation was investigated. The CNTs still have a clear single-walled structure after the ion irradiation. The graphite structure is distorted and some defects are induced in the nanotube by the oxygen irradiation. The oxygen ions with the ion energy of 25 eV are irradiated to the field effect transistor (FET) device with the nanotube channel. The n-type characteristic appears upon the oxygen ion irradiation, and the device exhibits ambipolar behavior. The defects induced by the ion irradiation may act as the n-type dopants.     

Ion mixing in Al,Si, and their oxides

The redistribution of thin metallic markers due to ion irradiation was studied by backscattering spectrometry in Al, Al₂O₃, Si, and SiO₂. Marker species were selected for their similar masses and different chemical reactivities with the host media and included Ti, Fe, W, Pt, and Au. It was found that the marker signals are Gaussian and that the variance ² of the marker atom distributions increases linearly with the dose of the irradiation, is insensitive to the temperature of irradiation in the range of 80–300 K, and depends linearly on the nuclear stopping power of the incident ions. The absolute values of ² for Ti, Fe, W, Pt, and Au markers in Al and Al₂O₃, W, and Pt in SiO₂ and W in Si is, within±50 %, of 6.5×10³Å² for 300 keV, 8×10¹⁵ Xe ions/cm². These observations suggest that collisional cascade mixing is a dominant mechanism in this type of impurity-matrix combinations. Only Au and Pt in Si mix at a larger rate: ² for Pt is about 3 and for Au about 5 times larger than ² for all other markers. Lower threshold displacement energies and/or the contribution of processes other than cascade mixing are possible considered reasons. In polycrystalline Al, a rapid migration of Au and Pt atoms throughout the Al layer, similar to grain boundary diffusion, is observed.     

Study of interface mixing induced by Ar<Superscript>+</Superscript> ion irradiation on Ag–Ge bilayer system

A 400 keV ⁴⁰Ar⁺ ion beam was utilized to induce mixing between two thin layers of Ag and Ge. Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry and Electrical Resistivity Measurements were employed as probes to investigate the kinetics of ion mixing. The intermixed region was studied at several fluences up to 1.7×10¹⁷ ions/cm² at a constant flux of 0.25 μA/cm². The “RUMP” simulation computer code was used to assist in the evaluation of the experimental results from the spectra. The analysis of the Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry spectra shows that increasing the Ar⁺ fluence enhances the Ag–Ge intermixing. To describe the mixing process, mixing rate parameters were calculated and compared with the theoretical models’ predictions. Børgesen’s local thermal spike model was found to accurately predict the diffusion in the Ag–Ge interface. An increase in the electrical resistivity of the film was detected during irradiation.     

Mass-transport driven by surface instabilities in metals under reactive plasma/ion beam treatment at moderate temperature

This paper presents a generalized approach to the mechanisms of oxidation, hydrogenation and nitriding of metals under ion irradiation with reactive particles at elevated temperatures. Experimental results on the plasma oxidation of bilayered Y/Zr films, the plasma hydrogenation of Mg films and the ion beam (1.2 keV N ₂ ⁺ ) nitriding of stainless steel are presented and discussed. We make special emphasis on the analysis of surface effects and their role in the initiation of mixing of bilayered films, the ingress of reactive species in the bulk and the restructuring of the surface layers. It is suggested that primary processes driving reactive atoms from the surface into the bulk are surface instabilities induced by thermal and ballistic surface atom relocations under reactive adsorption and ion irradiation, respectively. The diffusion of adatoms and vacancies, at temperature when they become mobile, provide the means to relax the surface energy. It is recognized that the stabilizing effect of surface adatom diffusion is significant at temperatures below 300–350°C. As the temperature increases, the role of surface adatom diffusion decreases and processes in the bulk become dominant. The atoms of subsurface monolayers occupy energetically favorable sites on the surface, and result in reduced surface energy.     

Microstructure and thermal stability of Fe,Ti, and Ag implanted yttria-stabilized zirconia

Yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) was implanted with 15 keV Fe or Ti ions up to a dose of 8×10¹⁶ at cm^–2. The resulting dopant concentrations exceeded the concentrations corresponding to the equilibrium solid solubility of Fe₂O₃ or TiO₂ in YSZ. During oxidation in air at 400° C, the Fe and Ti concentration in the outermost surface layer increased even further until a surface layer was formed of mainly Fe₂O₃ and TiO₂, as shown by XPS and ISS measurements. From the time dependence of the Fe and Ti depth profiles during anneal treatments, diffusion coefficients were calculated. From those values it was estimated that the maximum temperature at which the Fe- and Ti-implanted layers can be operated without changes in the dopant concentration profiles was 700 and 800° C, respectively. The high-dose implanted layer was completely amorphous even after annealing up to 1100° C, as shown by scanning transmission electron microscopy. Preliminary measurements on 50 keV Ag implanted YSZ indicate that in this case the amorphous layer recrystallizes into fine grained cubic YSZ at a temperature of about 1000° C. The average grain diameter was estimated at 20 nm, whereas the original grain size of YSZ before implantation was 400 nm. This result implies that the grain size in the surface of a ceramic material can be decreased by ion beam amorphisation and subsequent recrystallisation at elevated temperatures.