Phase constitution and interface structure of nano-sized Ag-Cu/AlN multilayers: Experiment and ab initio modeling

Journal Article · Mon Oct 29 00:00:00 EDT 2012 · Applied Physics Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4761471· OSTI ID:22080511

Pigozzi, Giancarlo; Janczak-Rusch, Jolanta; Passerone, Daniele; Antonio Pignedoli, Carlo; Patscheider, Joerg; Jeurgens, Lars P. H. ^[1]; Antusek, Andrej ^[1]; Parlinska-Wojtan, Magdalena ^[1]; Bissig, Vinzenz ^[2]

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1. Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Ueberlandstrasse 129, CH-8600 Duebendorf (Switzerland)
2. Kirsten Soldering AG, Hinterbergstrasse 32, CH-6330 Cham (Switzerland)

Nano-sized Ag-Cu{sub 8nm}/AlN{sub 10nm} multilayers were deposited by reactive DC sputtering on {alpha}-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}(0001) substrates. Investigation of the phase constitution and interface structure of the multilayers evidences a phase separation of the alloy sublayers into nanosized grains of Ag and Cu. The interfaces between the Ag grains and the quasi-single-crystalline AlN sublayers are semi-coherent, whereas the corresponding Cu/AlN interfaces are incoherent. The orientation relationship between Ag and AlN is constant throughout the entire multilayer stack. These observations are consistent with atomistic models of the interfaces as obtained by ab initio calculations.

• OSTI ID: 22080511
• Journal Information: Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 101, Issue 18; Other Information: (c) 2012 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0003-6951
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
ALLOYS
ALUMINIUM NITRIDES
ALUMINIUM OXIDES
COPPER
DEPOSITION
INTERFACES
LAYERS
MONOCRYSTALS
NANOSTRUCTURES
SILVER
SIMULATION
SPUTTERING
SUBSTRATES