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Auger Electron Spectroscopy of Thin Cr2GeC Films

  • STRUCTURE, PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS, AND DIFFUSION
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Abstract

Auger electron spectroscopy was used to determine the phase composition of Cr2GeC MAX phase thin films. A distinctive feature of the formation of carbon-containing MAX phases is the shape of carbon Auger peaks, which is characteristic of metal carbides spectra. Features of the Auger spectra in the presence of secondary phases of chromium germanides are found. Their presence can manifest itself in an increase in the energy of the germanium peaks, which is caused by a chemical shift during the formation of the Cr–Ge bond. Moreover, we have detected the accumulation of electronic charge, which can be explained by the features of the surface morphology.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors thank the Krasnoyarsk Regional Center of Research Equipment of Federal Research Center “Krasnoyarsk Science Center SB RAS” for obtaining the AFM data, X-ray diffraction patterns, scanning electron micrographs and L. A. Solovyov for the help in processing the XRD data.

Funding

The research was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (grant no. 21-12-00226, http://rscf.ru/project/21-12-00226/).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Kirensky Institute of Physics, Federal Research Center KSC SB RAS, 660036, Krasnoyarsk, Russia

    T. A. Andryushchenko, S. A. Lyaschenko, S. N. Varnakov, A. V. Lukyanenko, I. V. Nemtsev, I. A. Yakovlev, D. V. Shevtsov, O. A. Maximova & S. G. Ovchinnikov

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  1. T. A. Andryushchenko
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  2. S. A. Lyaschenko
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  6. I. A. Yakovlev
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Correspondence to T. A. Andryushchenko.

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Andryushchenko, T.A., Lyaschenko, S.A., Varnakov, S.N. et al. Auger Electron Spectroscopy of Thin Cr2GeC Films. Phys. Metals Metallogr. 124, 1776–1782 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0031918X2360135X

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