AlN growth kinetics during ion nitriding of aluminum

To study the kinetics of aluminum ion nitriding, a series of experiments have been performed at an ion energy of 1.6 keV, an ion current density of 0.2 mA/cm(2), and substrate temperatures varied from 250 to 400 degreesC. The nitride layers have been analyzed by nuclear reaction analysis and scanning electron microscopy. Binary collision computer simulations have been performed to calculate the sputtering yields of nitrogen and aluminum. Depending on the experimental conditions, the nitriding kinetics is either controlled by the supply of nitrogen atoms from the ion beam or by the diffusion of aluminum atoms through the growing nitride layer. Solutions of rate equations describing the growth of the nitride layer are fitted to the experimental data, from which diffusion and activation parameters for the aluminum transport are obtained. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.