| Abstract: | Polycrystalline gold–nickel thin films are deposited on silicon (111) wafers by evaporation in a vacuum of 2 × 10?6 mbar. Concentration profiles of heat‐treated specimens are obtained by Auger electron depth profiling. The heat treatments are carried out in a vacuum furnace of 4 × 10?6 mbar in the temperature interval 473–773 K. The grain boundary diffusion coefficient is determined, using a modified Wipple model, to be (3 × 10?4 cm2 s?1) exp (?0.94 eV kT?1). It is concluded that interdiffusion in the investigated system is characterized by type B kinetics, and that grain boundary diffusion plays a dominant role in the mass transport process of such films. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
