M. Pitter et al., TANTALUM DEPOSITION ON AND REACTION WITH THE HYDROGEN-TERMINATED DIAMOND(100) SURFACE STUDIED BY AUGER-ELECTRON AND ELECTRON-ENERGY-LOSS SPECTROSCOPY, Applied physics letters, 68(18), 1996, pp. 2508-2510
The evolution of the tantalum/diamond interface upon room-temperature
Ta deposition on the (100) surface of a boron doped, synthetically gro
wn diamond single crystal was monitored by Auger electron spectroscopy
(AES), ionization loss spectroscopy (ILS), and electron energy loss s
pectroscopy (ELS). Characteristic loss peaks indicate carbide formatio
n at the interface from very low coverages on, reflecting the strong i
nteraction between tantalum and carbon. Thicker layers of TaC are form
ed during subsequent thermal annealing by diffusion of carbon into the
tantalum film, at the same time the topmost diamond region is transfo
rmed into poorly ordered graphitic carbon. (C) 1996 American Institute
of Physics.