X-ray absorption spectroscopy study at the Si K-edge of tungsten carbide–silicon carbide thin films

X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) has been used to determine the compositional and structural nature of the phases formed in sputter-deposited W–Si–C films. The Si K-edge was examined to determine the presence and crystallinity of the SiC phase. For a film composition of 22% SiC, the XAS results show that there is at best only a minor amount of crystallization of SiC when deposited at 350 °C, but crystallization becomes more definitive at 600 °C. For a film with 29% SiC deposited at 350 °C, no crystalline SiC was detected.