Surface Study and Morphology of Thin Alumina Film on Cu-9%Al (111)

Abstract

We succeeded in growing the flat Al₂O₃ film on the Cu-9%Al (111) single crystal surface over a large area using the improved cleaning process, that is, low Ar ion energy and short time sputtering, and investigated the surface morphology and natures of chemical bond of Al₂O₃ film on the Cu-9%Al by means of Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) and a scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The Al₂O₃ film surface prepared by this method was uniformly flat, and the maximum thickness was about 4.0 nm. The Al and O KLL Auger peaks from Al₂O₃ film shifted toward low kinetic energy, and the shift reflected to band bending in the Al203 film near interface.