Effect of the Deposition Rate on Thin Films of CuZnAl Obtained by Thermal Evaporation Articles uri icon

authors

  • LOPEZ-PAVON, L.
  • LOPEZ-CUELLAR, E.
  • TORRES-CASTRO, A.
  • BALLESTEROS PEREZ, CARMEN INES
  • JOSE DE ARAUJO, C.

publication date

  • October 2010

start page

  • 4

volume

  • 1276

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

  • 0272-9172

Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)

  • 1946-4274

abstract

  • Thermal evaporation is used to deposit thin films of CuZnAl on silicon substrates. For this purpose, a CuZnAl shape memory alloy is used as evaporation source. The chemical composition and the phases present in
    the films are evaluated at two different deposition rates: 7 and 0.2
    Å/s. The thin films are heat treated to promote the diffusion of the
    elements and characterized by X-ray Diffraction, Energy Dispersive X-ray
    Spectroscopy and Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM). It
    is shown that the chemical composition of the thin films is
    significantly different to that of the CuZnAl alloy used as evaporation
    source. Moreover, the films produced at 7 Å/s show a significant loss of
    Zn, contrary to the results obtained using a deposition rate of 0.2
    Å/s. It is also observed that the composition varies across the
    thickness of the film, suggesting that the various alloying elements are
    evaporated at different rates during the deposition process. Finally
    the predominant phases present in the films belong to the AlxCuy family.