| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1684238 | Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms | 2010 | 5 Pages |
Thickness, composition, concentration depth profile and ion irradiation effects on uranium nitride thin films deposited on fused silica have been investigated by Rutherford Backscattering Spectroscopy (RBS) using 2 MeV He+ ions. The films were prepared by reactive DC sputtering at the temperatures of −200 °C, +25 °C and +300 °C. A perfect 1U:1N stoichiometry with a layer thickness of 660 nm was found for the film deposited at −200 °C. An increase of the deposition temperature led to an enhancement of surface oxidation and an increase of the thickness of the mixed U–N–Si–O layers at the interface. The sample irradiation by 1 MeV Ar+ ion beam with ion fluence of about 1.2–1.7 × 1016 ions/cm2 caused a large change in the layer composition and a large increase of the total film thickness for the films deposited at −200 °C and at +25 °C, but almost no change in the film thickness was detected for the film deposited at +300 °C. An enhanced mixing effect for this film was obtained after further irradiation with ion fluence of 2.3 × 1016 ions/cm2.
