Preparation of compositionally gradient thin films by ion-beam evaporation

Without mask control by intense, pulsed ion-beam evaporation (IBE) method, the compositionally gradient Si-Ge thin films have been successfully prepared by an ion-beam irradiation on Si and Ge plates. One of the compositionally gradient Si-Ge thin films indicated the compositional gradient (a) as 0.8 at. %/mm. This value was found to become an eighth of that of the previous work. When the synthesis of new phases in a system is attempted by the preparation of the compositionally gradient thin films having lower a, the crystalline of the phases seems to be easily identified. Accordingly, the present results can indicate a new possibility for the preparation of compositionally gradient thin films.