Out of thermodynamic equilibrium reaction of zinc-molybdenum system monitored by real-time rutherford backscattering spectrometry

Abstract

Solid phase reaction of bi-metallic thin films of zinc-molybdenum was thermally induced in order to investigate the diffusion kinetics of this bi-metallic system. The Zinc-Molybdenum bilayers were prepared by depositing a 50 nm thin film of Zinc on a substrate, followed by deposition of 50 nm layer of Molybdenum onto the Zinc film. All this was done in the electron beam evaporation chamber in sequential manner without breaking vacuum. The substrate temperature was at room temperature, the deposition pressure and the power supply current were approximately 1 ´ 10-6 mbar and 25 mA respectively. The samples were isothermally annealed using in-situ real-time Rutherford backscattering spectrometry using the incident energy of 3.045 MeV. In-situ real-time Rutherford backscattering spectrometry enabled the tracking of atomic diffusion and depth profiling between Zinc and Molybdenum layers while heating the sample.