Diffusion barriers

Larson R S 1986 Simulation of two-dimensional diffusive barrier crossing with a curved reaction path Physica A 137 295-305... 

Ruiz-Montero M J, Frenkel D and Brey J J 1997 Efficient schemes to compute diffusive barrier crossing rates Mol. Phys. 90 925-41... 

Electrically Functional. Refractory coatings are used in semiconductor devices, capacitors, resistors, magnetic tape, disk memories, superconductors, solar ceUs, and diffusion barriers to impurity contamination from the substrate to the active layer. 

MicrobiologicaHy influenced corrosion, which results from the interaction of microorganisms and a metal, is receiving increased emphasis (1,3,9). The action of microorganisms is at least one of the reasons why natural seawater is more corrosive than either artificial seawater or sodium chloride solutions. Microorganisms attach to the surfaces of metals and can, for example, act as diffusion barriers produce metaboHtes that enhance or initiate... 

Figure 7 is a schematic representation of a section of a cascade. The feed stream to a stage consists of the depleted stream from the stage above and the enriched stream from the stage below. This mixture is first compressed and then cooled so that it enters the diffusion chamber at some predetermined optimum temperature and pressure. In the case of uranium isotope separation the process gas is uranium hexafluoride [7783-81-5] UF. Within the diffusion chamber the gas flows along a porous membrane or diffusion barrier. Approximately one-half of the gas passes through the barrier into a region... 

Successful operation of the gaseous diffusion process requires a special, fine-pored diffusion barrier, mechanically rehable and chemically resistant to corrosive attack by the process gas. For an effective separating barrier, the diameter of the pores must approach the range of the mean free path of the gas molecules, and in order to keep the total barrier area required as small as possible, the number of pores per unit area must be large. Seals are needed on the compressors to prevent both the escape of process gas and the inflow of harm fill impurities. Some of the problems of cascade operation are discussed in Reference 16. 

An imponant component of the complex metallizations for both semiconductor devices and magnetic media is the diffusion barrier, which is included to prevent interdiffiision between layers or diffusion from overlyii layers into the substrate. A good example is placement of a TiN barrier under an Al metallization. Figure 7a illustrates the results of an SNMSd high-resolution depth profile measurement of a TiN diffusion barrier inserted between the Al metallization and the Si substrate. The profile clearly exhibits an uneven distribution of Si in the Al metallization and has provided a clear, accurate measurement of the composition of the underlying TiN layer. Both measurements are difficult to accomplish by other means and dem-... 

Fig. 2.27. AES sputter-depth profiles of the 0 -Al2O3-Ti thin-film structure on a smooth Si substrate covered with a TIN thin-film diffusion barrier, (A) as-deposited, (B) after heating to 500 °C, (C) after heating to 580 °C [2.147],...

There are various theories on how passive films are formed however, there are two commonly accepted theories. One theory is called the oxide film theory and states that the passive film is a diffusion-barrier layer of reaction products (i.e., metal oxides or other compounds). The barriers separate the metal from the hostile environment and thereby slow the rate of reaction. Another theory is the adsorption theory of passivity. This states that the film is simply adsorbed gas that forms a barrier to diffusion of metal ions from the substrata. 

Several authors " have suggested that in some systems voids, far from acting as diffusion barriers, may actually assist transport by permitting a dissociation-recombination mechanism. The presence of elements which could give rise to carrier molecules, e.g. carbon or hydrogen , and thus to the behaviour illustrated in Fig. 1.87, would particularly favour this mechanism. The oxidant side of the pore functions as a sink for vacancies diffusing from the oxide/gas interface by a reaction which yields gas of sufficiently high chemical potential to oxidise the metal side of the pore. The vacancies created by this reaction then travel to the metal/oxide interface where they are accommodated by plastic flow, or they may form additional voids by the mechanisms already discussed. The reaction sequence at the various interfaces (Fig. 1.87b) for the oxidation of iron (prior to the formation of Fe Oj) would be... 

In overlay bearings operating above about 140°C, the tin or indium in the overlay diffuses towards, and alloys with, the underlying copper, depleting the overlay and reducing its resistance to corrosion. This depletion by diffusion can be combatted by the use of a diffusion barrier or dam , e.g. a nickel-rich layer between the bearing alloy and, the overlay . 

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