AVS 49th International Symposium
    Thin Films Tuesday Sessions
       Session TF-TuP

Paper TF-TuP23
Study of the Oxidation Rates of Vanadium and Scandium

Tuesday, November 5, 2002, 5:30 pm, Room Exhibit Hall B2

Session: Poster Session
Presenter: N.D. Webb, Brigham Young University
Authors: N.D. Webb, Brigham Young University
G.A. Acosta, Brigham Young University
D.D. Allred, Brigham Young University
Correspondent: Click to Email
A study of the oxidation rates of thin films of vanadium and scandium was performed using an ellipsometer operating between 800 and 200 nm. Thin films of vanadium and scandium (between 40 and 150 A) were deposited on silicon substrates using a DC magnetron sputter system in a vacuum chamber. The samples were annealed at several temperatures between 90 to 200 C, with ellipsometric measurements taken periodically during the annealing process. This data was analyzed to determine the oxidation rates as a function of temperature and time, the activation energy of the oxides, and the swell factors. The oxidation states of the oxide films were determined using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. From our earlier work we found published, bulk constants were not appropriate for use with films this thin. We experimentally determined thin film, sputtered vanadium and scandium constants, as well as those for the subsequent oxides, in the visible and extreme ultraviolet (EUV). This work is part of a larger project; we are designing a vanadium and scandium multilayer mirror that will exhibit high reflectivity in the EUV.