X-ray photo-electron spectroscopy was used to induce and study Ag diffusion and dissolution in pulsed laser deposited As50Se50 amorphous chalcogenide films. Dynamic secondary ion mass spectroscopy was also employed to investigate the Ag atomic concentration in depth. Dynamic secondary ion mass spectroscopy measurements revealed that, even before X-ray irradiation, a considerable percentage of the total Ag diffused into the matrix forming a ~70nm mixed Ag–Se–As layer. X-ray photo-electron spectroscopic analysis showed that X-ray irradiation induced further diffusion of Ag into the chalcogenide matrix. At the end of the procedure, Ag was found to be homogeneously dissolved into the matrix, leaving only a 5 to 7nm-thick surface layer with excess Ag concentration. In this surface layer, stable Ag2Se clusters existing probably in quasicrystalline form prohibited further diffusion. The origin of the mechanism of the X-ray induced Ag diffusion and dissolution in amorphous chalcogenides was considered.

Soft X-ray Induced Ag Diffusion in Amorphous Pulse Laser Deposited As50Se50 Thin Films - an X-ray Photoelectron and Secondary Ion Mass Spectroscopy Study. M.Kalyva, A.Siokou, S.N.Yannopoulos, T.Wagner, Krbal, J.Orava, M.Frumar: Journal of Applied Physics, 2008, 104[4], 043704