Determination of diffusion coefficients in Au/Ni thin films by Auger electron spectroscopy

Abstract

Interdiffusion in vacuum-deposited Au/Ni thin films at temperatures in the range 200–500 °C has been investigated using the Auger depth profiling technique and X-ray diffraction analysis. A modified Wipple model was used to determine the diffusion coefficients of Ni in Au to be 5.3 × 10−16 cm2/s at 500 °C, 4.0 × 10−17 cm2/s at 400 °C, 2.5 × 10−18 cm2/s at 300 °C, and 1.2 × 10−19 cm2/s at 200 °C. An activation energy of 0.87 eV was calculated. The present diffusion data differ significantly from the corresponding values extracted by some other investigators and the reasons for this disagreement were discussed. (© 2004 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)