Metastable phase formation of Pt-X (X = Ir, Au) thin films

The dependence of phase formation and mechanical properties on the chemical composition has been investigated for Pt-Ir and Pt-Au combinatorial thin films. The formation of a single, metastable Pt-Ir solid solution has been observed for all experimental compositions and temperatures. Upon Ir addition to Pt the experimentally determined changes in lattice parameter and Young’s modulus display rule of mixture behavior which is in good agreement with our ab initio data. Whereas, in the Pt-Au system, the single metastable solid solution decomposes into two phases as the growth temperature is raised to ≥600 °C. The lattice parameters in the dual phase region are independent of chemical composition. The substrate temperature and chemical composition dependent phase formation in Pt-Ir and Pt-Au thin films can be rationalized based on CALPHAD (CALculation of PHAse Diagrams) results combined with estimations of the activation energy required for surface diffusion: The metastable phase formation during film growth is caused by kinetic limitations, where Ir atoms (in Pt-Ir) need to overcome an up to factor 6 higher activation energy barrier than Au (in Pt-Au) to enable surface diffusion.