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Interface-dominated growth of a metastable novel alloy phase

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 March 2011

Subhendu Sarkar ,
Alokmay Datta ,
Purushottam Chakraborty  and
Biswarup Satpati
Subhendu Sarkar*
Affiliation:
Surface Physics Division, Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, Kolkata 700 064, India
Alokmay Datta
Affiliation:
Surface Physics Division, Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, Kolkata 700 064, India
Purushottam Chakraborty
Affiliation:
Surface Physics Division, Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, Kolkata 700 064, India
Biswarup Satpati
Affiliation:
Institute of Physics, Sachivalaya Marg, Bhubaneswar 751 005, India
*
a)Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: purushottam.chakraborty@saha.ac.in
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Abstract

A new D023 metastable phase of Cu3Au was found to grow at the interfaces of Au/Cu multilayers deposited by magnetron sputtering. The extent of formation of this novel alloy phase depends upon an optimal range of interfacial width primarily governed by the deposition wattage of the direct current magnetron used. Such interfacially confined growth is utilized to grow a ∼300-nm-thick Au/Cu multilayer with thickness of each layer nearly equal to the optimal interfacial width which was obtained from secondary-ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) data. This growth technique is observed to enhance the formation of the novel alloy phase to a considerable extent. The SIMS depth profile also indicates that the mass fragment corresponding to Cu3Au occupies the whole film while x-ray diffraction (XRD) shows almost all the strong peaks belonging to the D023 structure. High-resolution cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy shows the near-perfect growth of the individual layers and also the lattice image of the alloy phase in the interfacial region. Vacuum annealing of the alloy film and XRD studies indicate stabilization of the D023 phase at ∼150 °C. The role of interfacial confinement, the interplay between interfacial strain and free energy, and the hyperthermal species generated during the sputtering process are discussed.

Keywords

AlloySecondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS)X-ray diffraction (XRD)
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Materials Research , Volume 20 , Issue 10 , October 2005 , pp. 2639 - 2646
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2005

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