Combining ellipsometry and electron microscopy for identifying the initial stages of aluminum oxidation II. Ellipsometry

The interaction of aluminum with the residual atmosphere at room temperature and in a vacuum of 3×10−7 tor is studied by means of laser ellipsometry with the data of Auger spectroscopy taken into account. In terms of the model of the layer-by-layer growth, an optical model of the reaction zone near the surface (a mixture of the metal and dissolved oxygen) is proposed. The model allowed us to distinguish the following stages of the process: the formation of a supersurface chemisorption layer, the formation of a system of subsurface chemisorption layers with the resulting reconstruction of the surface, the formation of aluminum pseudooxide, and the growth of an islet-type oxide.