Growth of oxide films

Studies have been made on the rate of growth of oxide films on different crystal faces of a metal using ellipsometric methods. The rate was indeed different for (100), (101), (110), and (311) faces of copper [162] moreover, the film on a (311) surface was anisotropic in that its apparent thickness varied with the angle of rotation about the film normal. 

Compared with XPS and AES, the higher surface specificity of SSIMS (1-2 mono-layers compared with 2-8 monolayers) can be useful for more precise determination of the chemistry of an outer surface. Although from details of the 01s spectrum, XPS could give the information that OH and oxide were present on a surface, and from the Cls spectrum that hydrocarbons and carbides were present, only SSIMS could be used to identify the particular hydroxide or hydrocarbons. In the growth of oxide films for different purposes (e.g. passivation or anodization), such information is valuable, because it provides a guide to the quality of the film and the nature of the growth process. 

In this chapter, the general principles, experiments and values for passive films are discussed. In Sect. 3.2.3.2, details for A1 are given as a simple example for the high field growth of oxide films. Many systems behave similarly, but some others differ... 

A. Atkinson, Transport Processes During the Growth of Oxide Films at Elevated Temperatures, Report AERE-R 11293, Harwell, June, 1984. 

A. Atkinson, Transport processes during the growth of oxide films at elevated temperature. Rev. Mod. Phys., 57 (2), p. 437 (1985)... 

Migration of the oxide component was deduced from measurements of the rate of growth of oxide films on molten Pb. The results could be described by ... 

Harris, L. B. and Damjanovic, A. 1975. Initial anodic growth of oxide film on platinum in 2NH2SO4 under galvanostatic, potentiostatic, and potentiodynamic conditions The question of mechanism. 122, 593-600. 

A number of factors must be considered when specifying contact materials. Several principles apply to the substrate. The normal force provided by the contact must be great enough to hold the battery in place (even when the device is dropped) and to prevent electrical degradation and any resulting instability. Contacts must be able to resist permanent set. This refers to the ability of the contact to resist permanent deformation with a set number of battery insertions. Temperature rise at high current drains due to the resistance of the contact material must be limited. Excessive temperature increase could lead to stress relaxation and loss in contact pressure as well as to the growth of oxide films which raise contact resistance. 

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