Interfacial reactions in chromium-carbon multilayers

Thermal modifications due to interfacial compound formation in magnetron sputtered Cr-C multilayers have been investigated in the temperature range between 450° C and 580° C and the formation of interfacial carbides has been discussed on the basis of thermodynamic and kinetic considerations. Grain boundary diffusion accompanied by grain growth proportional to the reacted layer thickness has been assumed to account for the observed t^1/3 time dependence of the growth rate. The compound layer growth has been thermally activated with an activation energy of Q_G=0.85 eV.