Abstract
The temperature at which mixing processes and compound formation between two metals occur in a thin film structure is strongly decreased with respect to bulk materials. The MeV He+ backscattering technique is well suited with its mass and depth perception to investigate the thermal kinetics of grain boundary diffusion in both miscible and nonmiscible couples of thin films. In the Cu−Pb thin film couple, a nonmiscible system as predicted by the phase diagram, a grain boundary migration of Pb occurs in the temperature range 200−300°C and Pb atoms accumulate at the Cu surface following a t1/2 dependence. In Al−In couples, another nonmiscible system, grain boundary diffusion takes place during deposition with filling of boundaries so that no accumulation is detected after annealing. In the completely miscible In−Pb couples, the slight increase of the substrate temperature during evaporation allows a strong intermixing so that backscattering spectra indicate the presence of both elements on the sample surface.
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