Compositionally-Driven Formation Mechanism of Hierarchical Morphologies in Co-Deposited Immiscible Alloy Thin Films

Powers, Max; Stewart, James A.; Dingreville, Rémi; Derby, Benjamin K.; Misra, Amit

doi:10.3390/nano11102635

Compositionally-Driven Formation Mechanism of Hierarchical Morphologies in Co-Deposited Immiscible Alloy Thin Films

Journal Article · Fri Oct 08 00:00:00 EDT 2021 · Nanomaterials

DOI:https://doi.org/10.3390/nano11102635· OSTI ID:1825244

^[1]; Stewart, James A. ^[2]; ^[2]; ^[3]; ^[4]

Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States); Texas A&M University
Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)

Co-deposited, immiscible alloy systems form hierarchical microstructures under specific deposition conditions that accentuate the difference in constituent element mobility. The mechanism leading to the formation of these unique hierarchical morphologies during the deposition process is difficult to identify, since the characterization of these microstructures is typically carried out post-deposition. We employ phase-field modeling to study the evolution of microstructures during deposition combined with microscopy characterization of experimentally deposited thin films to reveal the origin of the formation mechanism of hierarchical morphologies in co-deposited, immiscible alloy thin films. Our results trace this back to the significant influence of a local compositional driving force that occurs near the surface of the growing thin film. We show that local variations in the concentration of the vapor phase near the surface, resulting in nuclei (i.e., a cluster of atoms) on the film’s surface with an inhomogeneous composition, can trigger the simultaneous evolution of multiple concentration modulations across multiple length scales, leading to hierarchical morphologies. We show that locally, the concentration must be above a certain threshold value in order to generate distinct hierarchical morphologies in a single domain.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES) (SC-22); USDOE Office of Science (SC). Office of Basic Energy Sciences (BES)

Grant/Contract Number:: 89233218CNA000001; NA0003525; NA0003857

OSTI ID:: 1825244

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1827614
OSTI ID: 1974984

Report Number(s):: LA-UR-23-23051; SAND--2021-12498J

Journal Information:: Nanomaterials, Journal Name: Nanomaterials Journal Issue: 10 Vol. 11; ISSN 2079-4991

Publisher:: MDPICopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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