Topotaxial growth of Ti2AlN by solid state reaction in AlN/Ti(0001) multilayer thin films

Höglund, C.1; Beckers, M.1; Birch, J.1; v. Borany, J.2; Hultman, L.1 1Sweden; 2Germany

The formation of M_n+1AX_n phase (M: early transition metal, A: A-group element, and X: C and/or N) Ti₂AlN by solid state reaction between layers of wurtzite-AlN and α-Ti was investigated by in situ x-ray scattering. The sequential deposition of these layers by dual magnetron sputtering onto Al₂O₃(0001) wafers at 200 °C yielded smooth, hetero epitaxial (0001) oriented multilayer films, with sharp AlN / Ti interfaces as shown by x-ray reflectivity and Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy. Annealing to 400 °C led to AlN decomposition and diffusion of the released Al and N into the Ti layers. Further annealing to 500 °C resulted in a phase transformation into Ti₂AlN(0001) after only 5 min.

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