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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Gramatte, Simon, Wang, Xing, Bertrán, Michael Alejandro Hernández, Cancellieri, Claudia, Pizzi, Giovanni, Prezzi, Deborah, Timrov, Iurii, Politano, Olivier, Utke, Ivo, Jeurgens, Lars P. H., Turlo, Vladyslav
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2024
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://arxiv.org/abs/2408.08255
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  • Probing the local structure and chemistry of wide-bandgap amorphous oxide thin films remains challenging due to the limitations of lab-based spectroscopy. This work integrates X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), hard X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (HAXPES), molecular dynamics simulations using machine-learning interatomic potentials, density-functional theory (DFT) calculations, and classical electrostatic modeling of final-state core-ionization effects in Al atoms to uncover the structure and chemistry of amorphous alumina polymorphs made with atomic layer deposition (ALD). DFT calculations using the Delta Kohn-Sham method supported the interpretation of final-state effects and validated electrostatic model assumptions. Shifts in the measured Auger parameter were interpreted as extra-atomic relaxation energies, revealing sensitivity to the local coordination environment. Structural disorder and thermal fluctuations were found to govern the distribution of extra-atomic relaxation energies, suggesting that cryo-XPS can isolate and reveal intrinsic structural building blocks of amorphous oxides. Simulated heating and annealing demonstrated that Auger parameter shifts can serve as indicators of phase decomposition in H-supersaturated ALD amorphous alumina. These findings provide a pathway for comprehensive interpretation and predictive modeling of XPS spectra in amorphous wide-bandgap oxides.