Self-propagating high-temperature synthesis and formation of quasicrystals in Al/Mn bilayer thin films

Self-propagating high-temperature synthesis in Al/Mn bilayer thin films was investigated. It was found that a quasicrystalline phase forms after the passage of self-propagating high-temperature synthesis through the sample. It is shown that after multiple initiation (n>5) of self-propagating high-temperature synthesis in a sample the quasicrystalline phase transforms into a stable Al₆Mn phase. It is conjectured that self-propagating high-temperature synthesis can play the main role in the formation of quasicrystals in other film systems as well. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 68, No. 2, 121–124 (25 July 1998)     

Self-propagating high-temperature synthesis and solid-phase reactions in bilayer thin films

Self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) in Al/Ni, Al/Fe, and Al/Co bilayer thin films is investigated. It is established that SHS is achieved in thin films at initiation temperatures 300–350° lower than in powders. The mechanism of SHS in thin films is similar to the process of explosive crystallization. It is shown that at the initial stage solid-phase reactions arising on the contact surface of condensate films can be self-propagating high-temperature synthesis. SHS could find application in different technologies for obtaining film components for microelectronics. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 68, 58–62 (October 1998)     

Effects of thermal annealing on structural and magnetic properties of thin Pt/Cr/Co multilayers

Thermal stability of thin Pt/Cr/Co multilayers and the subsequent changes in their structural, magnetic, and magneto-optical properties are reported. We observe CoCrPt ternary alloy phase formation due to annealing at temperatures about 773 K, which is accompanied by enhancement in the coercivity value. In addition, 360° domain wall superimposed on a monodomain like background has been observed in the pristine multilayer, which changes into a multidomain upon annealing at 873 K.     

Fractal clusters and self-propagating high-temperature synthesis in thin Al/Ge films

Fractal clusters in amorphous thin films are examples of growth models. The main models are the Witten-Sander model and its modifications. It is believed that fractal patterns are formed in the course of the crystallization of an amorphous phase. It is shown that self-propagating high-temperature synthesis can be initiated in an Al/Ge film system and fractal patterns are formed in the reaction products. It is conjectured that the transition of an amorphous phase to a crystalline phase does not play a substantial role in the appearance of such patterns, while the formation of fractal clusters is determined by self-propagating high-temperature synthesis. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 67, No. 5, 317–321 (10 March 1998)     

Solid-phase reaction of aluminum with the hexagonal and cubic phases of cobalt in film systems

Solid-phase reactions taking place in Al/β-Co/MgO(001) and Al/α-Co/MgO(001) film systems under conditions of self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) are investigated. In both systems, SHS products exhibit the single CoAl superstructure, which epitaxially grows on the MgO(001) surface in the Al/β-Co/MgO(001) structures and has a fine-dispersed disordered structure in the Al/α-Co/MgO(001) films. It appears that the difference in the reagent structure has an effect on the energy of activation but does not change the SHS initiation temperature and the temperature at which the initial phase involved in the reaction products nucleates. It is shown that the SHS initiation temperature in the Al/β-Co/MgO(001) and Al/α-Co/MgO(001) systems coincides with the temperature of CoAl superstructure ordering.     

CoPt(FePt)-C纳米复合膜的结构与磁性

用磁过滤脉冲真空电弧沉积方法制备了CoPt(FePt) C纳米复合薄膜，并在不同温度下进行了退火处理，研究了薄膜中碳的含量以及退火温度对薄膜结构与磁性能的影响.制备态薄膜经过足够高的温度退火后，x射线衍射和磁力显微镜分析发现，在碳基质中生成了面心四方相的CoPt(FePt)纳米颗粒.对于特定组分为Co24Pt31C45和Fe43Pt35C22的薄膜，矫顽力以及颗粒尺寸都随退火温度的升高而增大，当退火温度为700℃时，Co24Pt31C45薄膜的矫顽力为21×105A/m，晶粒尺寸为17nm;当退火温度为650℃时，Fe43Pt35C22相应值分别为28×105A/m和105nm. 关键词： 磁记录材料 磁性薄膜 CoPt FePt纳米复合薄膜     

The effect of thickness and annealing condition on the microstructure and magnetic properties of Fe/Pt multilayer thin films

[Fe(0.5 nm)/Pt(0.5 nm)]₄₀, [Fe(1 nm)/Pt(1.5 nm)]₂₀ and [Fe(3 nm)/Pt(3 nm)]₁₀ multilayer were prepared by DC magnetron sputtering. By conventional furnace annealing (CA) at 270–600 °C for various time, all of the films still remained the disordered structure with the soft magnetic phase. By rapid thermal annealing (RTA) at 500 °C for various time, we obtained the [Fe(1 nm)/Pt(1.5 nm)]₂₀ and [Fe(3 nm)/Pt(3 nm)]₁₀ films with L1₂ ordered FePt₃ phase which was almost ferromagnetic at room temperature. However, the [Fe(0.5 nm)/Pt(0.5 nm)]₄₀ films was still disordered state even under RTA. Compared with CA, RTA exposed an outstanding effect on accelerating the phase transition when the film thickness is over [Fe(0.5 nm)/Pt(0.5 nm)]₄₀.     

Multiple self-propagating high-temperature synthesis and solid-phase reactions in thin films

A variety of self-propagating high-temperature synthesis in thin films has been found and investigated. This modification, called multiple self-propagating high-temperature synthesis, occurs in the solid phase and is a reversible phase transition. Multiple self-propagating high-temperature synthesis is similar in many respects to a metal—insulator phase transition. It is shown that for eutectic systems it is equivalent to a repeated transition through the eutectic temperature of bulk samples. It is inferred that multiple self-propagating high-temperature synthesis in bilayer films is governed by phase separation mechanisms that take place during eutectic solidification and eutectoid decomposition. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 115, 1756–1764 (May 1999)     

Effect of annealing in an external magnetic field on the microstructure and magnetic properties of the Fe/FePt/Pt multilayer system

The effect of annealing in an external magnetic field applied perpendicular to the plane of the film on the kinetics of Ll ₀ phase transformation of the microstructure and the magnetic properties of the Fe(2 nm)/FePt(20 nm)/Pt(2 nm) multilayer system has been investigated. The relations between the hysteresis loop shape, magnetic correlation length, and structural disorders, which are characteristic of magnetic information carriers, have been analyzed. It has been found that the annealing of the Fe(2 nm)/FePt(20 nm)/Pt(2 nm) multilayer system at a temperature of 470°C in an external magnetic field of 3500 Oe, which is applied perpendicular to the film plane, leads to the formation of a face-centered tetragonal structure of the Ll ₀ phase in the FePt film, which is characterized by the high coercivity H _c , the (001) preferred texture, the magnetic anisotropy perpendicular to the film plane, small sizes of FePt grains in the film, and weak exchange coupling between the particles. The energy of the external magnetic field encourages the process of transformation of the FePt film into the Ll ₀ phase. Thus, a method has been developed for fabricating multilayer films based on the FePt Ll ₀ phase with the parameters necessary for information carrier materials with perpendicular-type magnetic recording.     

Low-temperature activation of Mg-doped GaN with thin Co and Pt films

The activation of metallorganic chemical vapor deposition-grown Mg-doped GaN by N₂ annealing with thin Co and Pt films has been investigated. The Hall effect measurements revealed that both the Co and Pt films enhance activation of Mg acceptors as catalysts at low temperatures. A maximum hole concentration of p-type GaN was achieved at annealing temperature of 600 °C for the samples activated with both the Co and Pt films. It was also revealed that the activation of the acceptors is strongly affected by the thickness of the Co film.     

Growth and alloy formation of ultrathin Ni films on Co/Pt(1 1 1)

Low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) were used to study the growth and the structural evolution of Ni/Co/Pt(1 1 1) following high-temperature annealing. From the oscillation of the specular beam of the LEED and Auger uptake curve, we concluded that the growth mode of thin Ni films on 1 ML Co/Pt(1 1 1) is at least 2 ML layer-by-layer growth before three-dimensional island growth begins. The alloy formation of Ni/1 ML Co/Pt(1 1 1) was analyzed by AES. The temperature for the intermixing of Ni and Co layers in the upper interface without diffusing into the bulk of Pt is independent of the thickness of Ni when a Co buffer is one atomic monolayer. After the temperature was increased, formations of Ni-Co-Pt alloy, Ni-Pt alloy and Co-Pt alloy were observed. The temperature required for the Ni-Co intermixing layer to diffuse into Pt bulk increases with the thickness of Ni. The interlayer distance as a function of annealing temperature for 1 ML Ni/1 ML Co/Pt(1 1 1) was calculated from the I-V LEED. The evolution of LEED patterns was also observed at different annealing temperatures.     

Effect of microstructure on the thermoelectric properties of CSD-grown Bi2Sr2Co2Oy thin films

Three Bi2Sr2Co2Oy thin films with different microstructures have been prepared by chemical solution deposition on LaAlO 3(001) through varying the annealing temperature.With the decrease in the annealing temperature,both the size and c-axis alignment degree of grains in the film decrease as well,leading to an increase in the film resistivity.In addition,the decrease in the annealing temperature also results in a slight increase in the Seebeck coefficient due to the enhanced energy filtering effect of the small-grain film.The nanostructured Bi2Sr2Co2Oy film with an average grain size of about 100 nm shows a power factor comparable to that of films with larger grains.Since the thermal conductivity of the nanostructured films can be depressed due to the enhanced phonon scattering by grain boundary,a higher figure of merit is expected in Bi2Sr2Co2Oy thin film with grains in nanometer size.     

[(Fe/Pt/Fe)/Ag]n多层膜低温合成分离的L10相FePt纳米颗粒

制备了［（Fe/Pt/Fe）/Ag］n多层膜,研究了不同温度退火后的微结构和磁特性.实验结果表明温度高于400℃退火后,样品开始形成L10相的FePt纳米颗粒与Ag基体的复合结构.ΔM曲线的测量表明FePt颗粒之间不存在交换作用,非常清楚地说明非磁基体Ag有效地隔离了FePt磁性颗粒.有序相的低温合成可能和多层膜结构所造成的界面扩散以及Ag层引入的界面缺陷有关,同时,Ag原子较强的迁移性以及FePt与Ag之间表面自由能的显著差异,使FePt纳米颗粒被Ag隔离. 关键词： L10相 FePt 交换作用     

Interface effects on Gd induced disordering of Co films on Pt(111)

Amorphization of epitaxial Co thin films grown on top of a Pt(111) surface has been studied by surface X-ray diffraction after deposition of Gd overlayers. The results indicate strong differences of the disordering process depending on the thickness of the Co film. First basic difference is that thick Co films (15 atomic layers) are only partially amorphized by 4 atomic layers of Gd on top of them, whereas thinner Co films (5 atomic layers) are completely disordered by just 2 atomic layers of Gd. Moreover, amorphization by Gd overlayers induces different stress relaxation processes in both cases. For 15 atomic layers thick Co films a preferential amorphization of the more strained Co grains is observed, leading to an effective relaxation of about ? 0.5% of the in-plane lattice parameter during amorphization, approaching its relaxed value. On the contrary, for 5 atomic layers thick Co films, the initial steps of disordering are accompanied by a stronger increase of the in-plane lattice constant, by about 1.4%, typical of Co–Pt interface alloy formation, followed by a complete amorphization. Furthermore, the magnetic characterization, carried out by magneto-optical Kerr effect and resonant magnetic surface X-ray diffraction, strongly supports that the amorphization of thin Co films is changing the nature of the Co/Pt interface. In particular, as Gd overlayers are deposited, and the amorphization proceeds, the structural disordering of the Co/Pt interface flips its characteristic perpendicular magnetic anisotropy toward in-plane orientation before the complete magnetic depolarization of the interface Pt atoms is reached. All these results confirm a marked dependence of amorphization processes on film thickness, which can be related to the enhanced influence of the nearby film/substrate interface.     

Effect of local curvature of internal and external interfaces on mass transfer responsible for thin film degradation

The degradation of thin films on thermal annealing was studied by atomic force and scanning electron microscopy. Main factors that govern high-temperature mass transfer in the multilayer structures were disclosed. It is shown that local curvature of internal and external interfaces is a driving force in the mass transfer responsible for thin film degradation, redistribution of alloying elements, and formation of silicides.     

不同晶化工艺对非晶PZT纳米薄膜形核取向生长机理的影响

射频磁控溅射法室温下在Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si上制备非晶Pb(Zr048Ti052)O3薄膜，非晶PZT薄膜分别经常规炉退火(CFA)处理和快速热退火(RTA)处理晶化为（100），（111）不同择优取向的多晶薄膜. 采用x射线衍射测定了薄膜相组分、择优取向度；用原子力显微镜和压电响应力显微镜观察了薄膜表面形貌，以及对应区域由自发极化形成的铁电畴像，观察了不同取向薄膜的电畴分布特征. 结果表明，RTA晶化过程钙钛矿结构PZT结晶主要以PZT/Pt界面处的PtPb化合物为成核点异质形核并类似外延的结晶生长，沿界面结晶速率远大于垂直膜面结晶速率，而CFA晶化样品成核发生在膜内杂质缺陷处，以同质成核为主. 不同的成核机理导致了不同晶面择优取向生长. 关键词： PZT薄膜 结晶 形核 力显微技术     

Solid-phase reactions, self-propagating high-temperature synthesis, and order-disorder phase transition in thin films

The results of experimental studies of self-propagating high-temperature synthesis in double-layer Cu/Au thin-film systems are presented. It is shown that the synthesis initiation temperature for a Cu/Au film is determined by the order-disorder phase-transition temperature in the Cu-Au system. The order-disorder transition temperature for thin films is found to be lower than for the bulky samples. It is assumed that the temperatures of initiation of solid-phase reactions in thin films can be associated with the structural phase-transition temperatures.     

Quantitative depth profiling of an alternating Pt/Co multilayer and a Pt-Co alloy multilayer by SIMS using a Buckminsterfullerene (C60) source

A Buckminsterfullerene ion beam has been applied to the depth profiling of an alternating pure Pt and pure Co multilayer. Quantitative depth profiling was performed by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) with C₆₀ ions using Pt-Co alloy films with different compositions. Relative sensitivity factors (RSFs) derived from a Pt₃₉Co₆₁ alloy film were used to convert an original depth profile to a composition depth profile. A severe interface artifact observed in the depth profile of a Pt/Co multilayer was quantitatively correlated with a gradual variation of matrix composition through the Pt/Co and Co/Pt interfaces by comparison with the depth profiling of an alloy multilayer film. Moreover, the interface artifact could be compensated by conversion of the profile to a composition profile using the same RSFs. The depth resolutions of a Pt/Co multilayer derived from the composition depth profile were much larger than the apparent interface widths measured from the original depth profile due to the nonlinear relationship between the Co and Pt ion intensities and their compositions.     

Multilayer Bi1.5Zn1.0Nb1.5O7/Ba0.6Sr0.4TiO3/Bi1.5Zn1.0Nb1.5O7 thin films for tunable microwave applications

Bi_1.5Zn_1.0Nb_1.5O₇/Ba_0.6Sr_0.4TiO₃/Bi_1.5Zn_1.0Nb_1.5O₇ tunable multilayer thin film has been fabricated by pulsed laser ablation and characterized. Phase composition and microstructure of multilayer films were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The film has very smooth surface with RMS roughness of 1.5-2 nm and grain size of 100-150 nm. Total film thickness has been measure to be 375 nm. The BZN thin films at 300 K, on Pt(1 1 1)/SiO₂/Si substrate showed zero-field dielectric constant of 105 and dielectric loss tangent of 0.002 at frequency of 0.1 MHz. Thin films annealed at 700 °C shows the dielectric tunability of 18% with biasing field 500 kV/cm at 0.1 MHz. The multilayer thin film shows nonferroelectric behavior at room temperature. The good physical and electrical properties of multilayer thin films make them promising candidate for tunable microwave device applications.     

Structural and magnetic properties of Co-C composite films and Co/C multilayer films

CoC composite films and Co/C multilayer films have been prepared by a method incorporating ion beam sputtering and plasma chemical vapor deposition. It has been found that the structure and magnetic properties of both the Co-C composite and the Co/C multilayer films depend strongly on the substrate temperature during deposition. The Co-C composite film deposited at room temperature is amorphous, with relatively low saturation magnetization and coercivity. On the other hand, the film deposited at 250 °C is composed of fine Co crystallites separated by amorphous C or Co-C phase. As a result, both the saturation magnetization and coercivity are increased compared with the film deposited at room temperature. When deposited at room temperature, the Co/C multilayer film exhibits good periodicity, with a period of 70 nm (Co: 40 nm, C: 30 nm) and sharp and flat Co-C interfaces. High magnetization (602 emu/cm³) and low coercivity (1.6 Oe) are obtained for such a film. However, increasing the substrate temperature to 250 °C was found to be detrimental to the magnetic properties due to the formation of cobalt carbide at the Co-C interface. Received: 11 July 2000 / Accepted: 13 July 2000 / Published online: 30 November 2000