Abstract
The effects of argon ion bombardment on the surface layers of Cu-Ni and Ag-Au alloys were studied. Mechanisms considered were preferential sputtering, enhanced diffusion and thermodynamic segregation. An Auger electron spectroscopy-secondary ion mass spectrometry combined system was used to determine the composition-depth profiles from several tens of ångströms below the surface. The variation of the depth profile in the layer modified as a result of ion bombardment revealed that above room temperature the outermost layer was always enriched with copper or silver for the respective alloys compared with the second and the third layers. The results indicated that thermodynamic segregation played an important role in determining the depth profile of the altered layer as well as preferential sputtering and enhanced diffusion.
Published Version
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