Title of article :
Investigations on the oxidation of zirconium nitride films in air by
nuclear reaction analysis and backscattering spectrometry
Author/Authors :
G.L.N. Reddy، نويسنده , , J.V. Ramana، نويسنده , , Sanjiv Kumar، نويسنده , , S. Vikram Kumar، نويسنده , , V.S. Raju، نويسنده ,
Issue Information :
روزنامه با شماره پیاپی سال 2007
Abstract :
The thermal oxidation of dc magnetron sputter deposited thin ZrN films in air in the temperature range of 100–475 8C has been studied by depth
profiling N using nuclear reaction analysis (NRA) involving 15N(1H,ag)12C resonance reaction and O using 3.05 MeV 16O(a,a)16O resonant
scattering. The structural and morphological changes accompanying the process have also been investigated. NRA/backscattering spectrometry
measurements show that oxidation results in the formation of ZrO1.8 0.1 at the surface. An interface consisting of Zr, O and N is also formed
underneath the surface oxide. For an isothermal annealing, oxide layer as well as interface exhibits parabolic growth with the duration of annealing.
The diffusion of oxygen through the already grown oxide layer (D = 5.6 10 14 cm2 s 1 at 475 8C) forms the rate-controlling step of oxidation.
The diffusion may be facilitated by the high concentration of oxygen vacancies in the oxide layer. Glancing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD)
measurements indicate that zirconia films formed are phase-singular (monoclinic) and are textured in (2 0 0) and (3 1 1) orientations. Examination
by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) reveals the formation of blisters on sample surfaces on prolonged oxidation. The blistering can be
attributed to intrinsic growth stress arising due to the larger molar volume of zirconium oxide in comparison to zirconium nitride, a fact
demonstrated by the depth profile measurements as well
Keywords :
Rutherford backscattering spectrometry , Nuclear resonance reaction analysis , Oxidation , ZrN
Journal title :
Applied Surface Science
Journal title :
Applied Surface Science