The formation of V-Al-N thin films by reactive ion beam mixing of V/Al interfaces

The reactive ion beam mixing (IBM) of V/Al interfaces by low-energy N (2) (+) ions at room temperature leads to the formation of V-Al-N ternary nitride thin films. The kinetics, growth mechanisms, composition and electronic structure of those films have been studied using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy, Factor Analysis and Monte Carlo TRIDYN simulations. The comparison of experimental results with those obtained from TRIDYN simulations suggests that the chemical reaction with the nitrogen partial pressure and processes driven by residual defects are the rate-controlling mechanisms during the reactive IBM of V/Al interfaces. The kinetics of mixing is characterized by two stages. During the first stage (a parts per thousand currency sign4x10(16) ions/cm(2)), the formation of vanadium nitride is observed. In the second stage, vanadium nitride is transformed into a V-Al-N ternary nitride due to Al incorporation in the near surface region. Moreover, the V/Al ratio can be varied in a broad range, whereas the nitrogen concentration slightly decreases with increasing the aluminium content of the film.