The elemental composition has a huge influence on the physical properties of various films or multilayer coatings. The possibility to deposit films of the desirable composition or precise control of chemical elements during the formation of the coatings allows creating novel films with unique properties. Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS) is a widely used technique for the analysis of thin films. RBS allows the quantitative determination of the composition of a coating and depth profiling of individual elements without the destruction of the materials. To determine the both light and heavy elements, and analyse the distribution profiles of the atomic concentrations in the interface (film to substrate or layer to layer) are the main advantages of this technique. The aim of the project is to analyse the RBS spectra of the coatings. The experimental spectra of the films would be simulated using the SIMNRA program. The distribution of the atomic concentrations and depth profiling of individual elements in the multi-layered ceramic coatings would be obtained. The influence of the number of layers and temperature on the elemental composition of the films would be investigated in the project.
Project funding:
Project is funded by EU Structural Funds according to the 2014–2020 Operational Programme for the European Union Funds’ Investments priority “Development of scientific competence of researchers, other researchers, students through practical scientific activities” under Measure No. 09.3.3-LMT-K-712.
Project results:
A literature review about the Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS) and its application in the analysis of various films and multi-layer coatings was performed. The student learned to work with SIMNRA software package. The fitting (simulation) of the experimental RBS spectra of the multi-layer coatings was performed. The atomic concentrations and the depth profiling analysis of the elements in the coatings were determined. The final report was prepared and results of the project were presented at the international conference “E-MRS Fall Meeting 2019“.
Period of project implementation: 2019-07-01 - 2019-08-31
Project coordinator: Kaunas University of Technology
