Temperature Dependent 4-, 5- and 6-Fold Coordination of Aluminum in MOCVD-Grown Amorphous Alumina Films: From Local Coordination to Material Properties

Abstract:

Aluminum 5-fold coordination coexisting with 4-and 6-fold coordination structurally characterizes amorphous aluminum oxide. For nearly 30 years now, ²⁷Al MAS NMR has enabled to detect and later on to quantify this feature thanks to advances in high-resolution instrumentation. The Introduction shortly reviews the results of investigations of 5-coordinate aluminum in amorphous alumina through NMR analysis. Aluminum oxide is not a glass-forming oxide. A convenient way to obtain the amorphous state is by thin film deposition. We present here ²⁷Al NMR analysis of a series of thin films of aluminum oxide prepared by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) in the temperature range 360 ≤ T_d ≤ 720 °C. In this range, low T_d yield OH-containing films, while high T_d yield nanocrystallites-containing films. The variation of the ^[4]Al, ^[5]Al and ^[6]Al content with T_d is presented and discussed. It is correlated with the T_d dependence of mechanical and corrosion protection properties. These properties are optimal when the structural disorder is to the utmost. Al coordination dependence on film thickness and the formation of metallic aluminum during the deposition process are also presented.

• Periodical: Advances in Science and Technology (Volume 91)
• Pages: 123-133
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AST.91.123
• Online since: October 2014
• Authors: Alain N. Gleizes*, D. Samélor, Constantin Vahlas, Vincent Sarou-Kanian, Pierre Florian, Dominique Massiot
• Keywords: Amorphous Aluminum Oxide, Corrosion Protection, Mechanical Property, MOCVD, Pentacoordinated Aluminum, Thin Film, Very High-Field NMR

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