Citation:
J.D. Burns, K.G. Myhrea, N.J. Simsa, D.W. Stracenerd, R.A. Bolla, “Effects of annealing temperature on morphology and thickness of samarium electrodeposited thin films”, Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, 830 (2016).
Abstract:
Electroplated depositions of Sm were prepared using a vertical well-type electrodeposition unit with an aqueous ammonium acetate electrolyte system, with an average deposition yield just over 87%. The depositions were analyzed for morphology and thickness by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and chemical composition by energy dispersion X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) before and after firing. The depositions were fired at 125-700 °C, while varying the heating rate from 0.5 to 10 °C/min in either an oxidizing or reducing atmosphere. A heating rate of 10 °C/min was slow enough to prevent disruption of the deposition morphology during firing. A gas sweep enhanced the removal of any organic substituents, with an oxidizing environment being more advantageous than a reducing environment.