Chemical Reactivity at the Ti/CoO Interface as Investigated by X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Physics and Astronomy

Date of Award

Summer 8-18-2025

Abstract

The chemical reactivity at the Ti/CoO interface has been investigated. Thin films of cobalt deposited on silicon substrate were oxidized in vacuum. Such an oxidation yields the formation of the CoO phase. Thin films of titanium were then deposited on the CoO substrates kept at room temperature. The technique of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy has been used for the characterization of the constituents present at the interface. The 2p core levels of cobalt and titanium has been investigated. Chemical reactivity has been found to occur at the interface. The cobalt oxide was observed to get reduced to elemental cobalt, while the titanium overlayer was observed to get oxidized. A mixture of titanium dioxide and titanium sub-oxides was found to be present at the interface. An increasing amount of unreacted titanium was observed as the thickness of the overlayer was increased. The chemical reactivity of as a function of the thickness of the titanium overlayer and the substrate temperature was also studied. The interface width is observed to depend on the annealing temperature.

Advisor

Chourasia Anil

Subject Categories

Physical Sciences and Mathematics | Physics

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