AVS 47th International Symposium
    Surface Science Thursday Sessions
       Session SS1+MC-ThM

Paper SS1+MC-ThM11
Plasma Oxidation as a Tool to Design Oxide Films at Low Temperatures

Thursday, October 5, 2000, 11:40 am, Room 208

Session: Oxide Applications and Oxidation
Presenter: R. Schennach, Lamar University
Authors: R. Schennach, Lamar University
D.G. Naugle, Texas A&M University
H. McWhinney, Prairie View A&M University
D.L. Cocke, Lamar University
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Interfacial oxidation is an established approach to produce surface thin films for catalysts, corrosion, ware protective coatings and electronic structures. The three main oxidation methods: thermal, anodic and plasma, still lack adequate fundamental physical-chemical models that can allow film design, particularly on alloys. Plasma oxidation of a CuZr alloy is studied using XPS (X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy). The dependence of the resulting oxide film on alloy composition and sample temperature during plasma oxidation is investigated. In contrast to thermal and electrochemical oxidation which lead to the formation of a zirconium oxide film, plasma oxidation leads to the formation of a copper oxide or metallic copper over layer depending on temperature and copper concentration in the bulk. It is shown that plasma oxidation can be used to design oxide films at room temperature, which require high temperatures using thermal oxidation.