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Nb Texture Evolution and Interdiffusion in Nb/Si-Layered Systems
[Image: see text] In this paper, we present a detailed study on the microstructure evolution and interdiffusion in Nb/Si-layered systems. Interlayer formation during the early stages of growth in sputter-deposited Nb-on-Si and Si-on-Nb bilayer systems is studied in vacuo using a high-sensitivity low...
Autores principales: | , , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
American
Chemical Society
2021
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Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8289241/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34165281 http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acsami.1c06210 |
Sumario: | [Image: see text] In this paper, we present a detailed study on the microstructure evolution and interdiffusion in Nb/Si-layered systems. Interlayer formation during the early stages of growth in sputter-deposited Nb-on-Si and Si-on-Nb bilayer systems is studied in vacuo using a high-sensitivity low-energy ion-scattering technique. An asymmetric intermixing behavior is observed, where the Si-on-Nb interface is ∼2× thinner than the Nb-on-Si interface, and it is explained by the surface-energy difference between Nb and Si. During Nb-on-Si growth, the crystallization of the Nb layer occurs around 2.1 nm as-deposited Nb thickness with a strong Nb(110)-preferred orientation, which is maintained up to 3.3 nm as-deposited Nb thickness. A further increase in the Nb layer thickness above 3.3 nm results in a polycrystalline microstructure with a reduced degree of texture. High-resolution cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy imaging is performed on Nb/Si multilayers to study the effect of the Nb layer texture on interdiffusion during low-temperature annealing. Nb/Si multilayers with amorphous 2 nm Nb layers and strongly textured 3 nm thick Nb layers, with limited grain-boundary pathways for diffusion, show no observable interdiffusion during annealing at 200 °C for 8 h, whereas in a Nb/Si multilayer with polycrystalline 4 nm thick Nb layers, a ∼1 nm amorphous Nb/Si interlayer is formed at the Si-on-Nb interface during annealing. |
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