Capabilities of Grazing Incidence X-ray Diffraction in the Investigation of Amorphous Mixed Oxides with Variable Composition
X-ray Diffraction has been fully exploited as a probe to investigate crystalline materials. However, very little research has been carried out to unveil its potentialities towards amorphous materials. In this work, we demonstrated the capabilities of Grazing Incidence X-ray Diffraction (GIXRD) as a...
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MDPI AG
2022-03-01
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/15/6/2144 |
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| author | Elisabetta Achilli Filippo Annoni Nicola Armani Maddalena Patrini Marina Cornelli Leonardo Celada Melanie Micali Antonio Terrasi Paolo Ghigna Gianluca Timò |
| author_facet | Elisabetta Achilli Filippo Annoni Nicola Armani Maddalena Patrini Marina Cornelli Leonardo Celada Melanie Micali Antonio Terrasi Paolo Ghigna Gianluca Timò |
| author_sort | Elisabetta Achilli |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | X-ray Diffraction has been fully exploited as a probe to investigate crystalline materials. However, very little research has been carried out to unveil its potentialities towards amorphous materials. In this work, we demonstrated the capabilities of Grazing Incidence X-ray Diffraction (GIXRD) as a simple and fast tool to obtain quantitative information about the composition of amorphous mixed oxides. In particular, we evidenced that low angle scattering features, associated with local structure parameters, show a significant trend as a function of the oxide composition. This evolution can be quantified by interpolating GIXRD data with a linear combination of basic analytical functions, making it possible to build up GIXRD peak-sample composition calibration curves. As a case study, the present method was demonstrated on Ta<sub>2</sub>O<sub>5</sub>–SiO<sub>2</sub> amorphous films deposited by RF-magnetron sputtering. GIXRD results were validated by independent measurement of the oxide composition using Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry (RBS). These materials are attracting interest in different industrial sectors and, in particular, in photovoltaics as anti-reflection coatings. Eventually, the optical properties measured by spectroscopic ellipsometry were correlated to the chemical composition of the film. The obtained results highlighted not only a correlation between diffraction features and the composition of amorphous films but also revealed a simple and fast strategy to characterize amorphous thin oxides of industrial interest. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T13:28:57Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-22c44596bc784904bc73f33adc6f9e20 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1996-1944 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T13:28:57Z |
| publishDate | 2022-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Materials |
| spelling | doaj.art-22c44596bc784904bc73f33adc6f9e202023-11-30T21:20:16ZengMDPI AGMaterials1996-19442022-03-01156214410.3390/ma15062144Capabilities of Grazing Incidence X-ray Diffraction in the Investigation of Amorphous Mixed Oxides with Variable CompositionElisabetta Achilli0Filippo Annoni1Nicola Armani2Maddalena Patrini3Marina Cornelli4Leonardo Celada5Melanie Micali6Antonio Terrasi7Paolo Ghigna8Gianluca Timò9Materials and Generation Technologies Department (TGM), Ricerca sul Sistema Energetico S.p.A.—RSE, Strada Torre della Razza, le Mose, 29100 Piacenza, ItalyMaterials and Generation Technologies Department (TGM), Ricerca sul Sistema Energetico S.p.A.—RSE, Strada Torre della Razza, le Mose, 29100 Piacenza, ItalyMaterials and Generation Technologies Department (TGM), Ricerca sul Sistema Energetico S.p.A.—RSE, Strada Torre della Razza, le Mose, 29100 Piacenza, ItalyDepartment of Physics, University of Pavia, Via Bassi 6, 27100 Pavia, ItalyMaterials and Generation Technologies Department (TGM), Ricerca sul Sistema Energetico S.p.A.—RSE, Strada Torre della Razza, le Mose, 29100 Piacenza, ItalyDepartment of Physics, University of Parma, Via Università 12, 43121 Parma, ItalyDepartment of Physics and Astronomy “Ettore Majorana”, University of Catania & IMM-CNR Sede Catania, Via S. Sofia 64, 95123 Catania, ItalyDepartment of Physics and Astronomy “Ettore Majorana”, University of Catania & IMM-CNR Sede Catania, Via S. Sofia 64, 95123 Catania, ItalyDepartment of Chemistry, University of Pavia, Via Taramelli 12, 27100 Pavia, ItalyMaterials and Generation Technologies Department (TGM), Ricerca sul Sistema Energetico S.p.A.—RSE, Strada Torre della Razza, le Mose, 29100 Piacenza, ItalyX-ray Diffraction has been fully exploited as a probe to investigate crystalline materials. However, very little research has been carried out to unveil its potentialities towards amorphous materials. In this work, we demonstrated the capabilities of Grazing Incidence X-ray Diffraction (GIXRD) as a simple and fast tool to obtain quantitative information about the composition of amorphous mixed oxides. In particular, we evidenced that low angle scattering features, associated with local structure parameters, show a significant trend as a function of the oxide composition. This evolution can be quantified by interpolating GIXRD data with a linear combination of basic analytical functions, making it possible to build up GIXRD peak-sample composition calibration curves. As a case study, the present method was demonstrated on Ta<sub>2</sub>O<sub>5</sub>–SiO<sub>2</sub> amorphous films deposited by RF-magnetron sputtering. GIXRD results were validated by independent measurement of the oxide composition using Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry (RBS). These materials are attracting interest in different industrial sectors and, in particular, in photovoltaics as anti-reflection coatings. Eventually, the optical properties measured by spectroscopic ellipsometry were correlated to the chemical composition of the film. The obtained results highlighted not only a correlation between diffraction features and the composition of amorphous films but also revealed a simple and fast strategy to characterize amorphous thin oxides of industrial interest.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/15/6/2144GIXRDamorphous oxidesmixed oxidesthin filmsXRRRBS |
| spellingShingle | Elisabetta Achilli Filippo Annoni Nicola Armani Maddalena Patrini Marina Cornelli Leonardo Celada Melanie Micali Antonio Terrasi Paolo Ghigna Gianluca Timò Capabilities of Grazing Incidence X-ray Diffraction in the Investigation of Amorphous Mixed Oxides with Variable Composition Materials GIXRD amorphous oxides mixed oxides thin films XRR RBS |
| title | Capabilities of Grazing Incidence X-ray Diffraction in the Investigation of Amorphous Mixed Oxides with Variable Composition |
| title_full | Capabilities of Grazing Incidence X-ray Diffraction in the Investigation of Amorphous Mixed Oxides with Variable Composition |
| title_fullStr | Capabilities of Grazing Incidence X-ray Diffraction in the Investigation of Amorphous Mixed Oxides with Variable Composition |
| title_full_unstemmed | Capabilities of Grazing Incidence X-ray Diffraction in the Investigation of Amorphous Mixed Oxides with Variable Composition |
| title_short | Capabilities of Grazing Incidence X-ray Diffraction in the Investigation of Amorphous Mixed Oxides with Variable Composition |
| title_sort | capabilities of grazing incidence x ray diffraction in the investigation of amorphous mixed oxides with variable composition |
| topic | GIXRD amorphous oxides mixed oxides thin films XRR RBS |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/15/6/2144 |
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