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Composition dependence of the initial oxidation behaviour of Ti 1− x Al x N ( x = 0.20, 0.45, 0.65) films studied by XAS and XPS
Author(s) -
Esaka F.,
Furuya K.,
Shimada H.,
Imamura M.,
Matsubayashi N.,
Kikuchi T.,
Ichimura H.,
Kawana A.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
surface and interface analysis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.52
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1096-9918
pISSN - 0142-2421
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1096-9918(199912)27:12<1098::aid-sia684>3.0.co;2-i
Subject(s) - x ray photoelectron spectroscopy , x ray absorption spectroscopy , aluminium , nitride , layer (electronics) , analytical chemistry (journal) , diffusion , surface layer , oxidation state , nitrogen , materials science , oxygen , absorption (acoustics) , chemical state , absorption spectroscopy , chemistry , chemical engineering , metal , metallurgy , nanotechnology , environmental chemistry , organic chemistry , physics , quantum mechanics , engineering , composite material , thermodynamics
The difference in the initial oxidation behaviours of Ti 1− x Al x N ( x = 0.20, 0.45, 0.65) films was studied by x‐ray absorption (XAS) and by x‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) using synchrotron radiation (SR‐XPS). The N K‐edge XAS results indicated rapid decreases in the relative ratio of Al–N relative to the total nitride with surface oxidation for all the Ti 1− x Al x N films. The SR‐XPS analysis of O, Ti and Al species with different photon energies disclosed the formation of Al 2 O 3 at an upper layer and TiO 2 at a lower layer in oxidized Ti 1− x Al x N films with (a = 0:2c1) and 0.45. In contrast, a mixed Al 2 O 3 and TiO 2 surface layer was formed in the oxidized Ti 1− x Al x N film with high aluminium content ( x = 0.65). In addition, N 2 molecules, which were formed as an intermediate species during the oxidation, were concentrated in the interface of Al 2 O 3 and TiO 2 in the oxidized Ti 0.55 Al 0.45 N and Ti 0.80 Al 0.20 N films, whereas they occurred near the surface in the oxidized Ti 0.35 Al 0.65 N film. From these results, it was concluded that the high surface oxidation‐resistant properties of Ti 1− x Al x N film with low aluminium content originated from the rapid formation of a surface Al 2 O 3 layer that prevented inward diffusion of oxygen as well as outward diffusion of molecular nitrogen. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.