Structural and chemical composition studies of pulsed laser deposited beta-Al-Mg thin films.
In this work, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy and also an energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy were used to examine the morphology, structure and chemical composition of the beta-Al(3)Mg(2) thin films. The beta-Al-Mg thin films were produced by pulsed laser deposition. For the laser fluence (q) of 1.6 J/cm(2) the amorphous structure was observed while for the higher fluence (13.8 J/cm(2)) nanocrystalline grains were visible. The micrometer-sized droplets were also observed in the films deposited at higher laser fluence. It was found that the thickness of beta-Al-Mg films was equal to 95 nm and 260 nm for laser fluence of 1.6 J/cm(2) and 13.8 J/cm(2), respectively. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy of thin films revealed that those that were deposited at 1.6 J/cm(2) were characterized by the congruent transfer of the composition of the target to the substrate (Si). However, the contents of aluminium and magnesium varied on the cross-section of films deposited at fluence of 13.8 J/cm(2).
Radziszewska
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AGH University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Metals Engineering and Industrial Computer Science, Krakow, Poland. radzisze@agh.edu.pl