The thermodynamic assessment of the As-Pt system and the analysis of the Pt/GaAs interfacial reactions

In order to analyze the Pt/GaAs interfacial reaction sequence, the As-Pt binary system was thermodynamically assessed. A consistent thermodynamic data set for the As-Pt binary system have been obtained by means of calculation of phase diagrams (CALPHAD) technology. The intermetallic compound, As2Pt, was treated as stoichiometric compound. The gas phase was treated as an ideal mixture. Using the present thermodynamic data set for the As-Pt system and the literatures reported ones for the Ga-Pt and As-Ga systems, the isothermal sections of the As-Ga-Pt system at different temperatures 873 and 298 K were constructed by extending the related binaries. The calculated phase diagrams reproduce the experimental results well. Based on the present optimized data and the phase equilibrium calculation, the interfacial reactions of (bulk Pt)/GaAs and (thin-film Pt)/GaAs couples were analyzed and the phase formation sequences were predicted. The calculation results agree well with the reported experiments.