@misc{schroeder_thermal_stability_2015, 
author={Schroeder, J.L., Saha, B., Garbrecht, M., Schell, N., Sands, T.D., Birch, J.},
title={Thermal stability of epitaxial cubic-TiN/(Al,Sc)N metal/semiconductor superlattices},
year={2015},
howpublished = {journal article},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-015-8884-5},
abstract = {We report on the thermal stability of epitaxial cubic-TiN/(Al,Sc)N metal/semiconductor superlattices with the rocksalt crystal structure for potential plasmonic, thermoelectric, and hard coating applications. TiN/Al0.72Sc0.28N superlattices were annealed at 950 and 1050 °C for 4, 24, and 120 h, and the thermal stability was characterized by high-energy synchrotron-radiation-based 2D X-ray diffraction, high-resolution (scanning) transmission electron microscopy [HR(S)/TEM], and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) mapping. The TiN/Al0.72Sc0.28N superlattices were nominally stable for up to 4 h at both 950 and 1050 °C. Further annealing treatments for 24 and 120 h at 950 °C led to severe interdiffusion between the layers and the metastable cubic-Al0.72Sc0.28N layers partially transformed into Al-deficient cubic-(Al,Sc)N and the thermodynamically stable hexagonal wurtzite phase with a nominal composition of AlN (h-AlN). The h-AlN grains displayed two epitaxial variants with respect to c-TiN and cubic-(Al,Sc)N. EDX mapping suggests that scandium has a higher tendency for diffusion in TiN/(Al,Sc)N than titanium or aluminum. Our results indicate that the kinetics of interdiffusion and the cubic-to-hexagonal phase transformation place constraints on the design and implementation of TiN/(Al,Sc)N superlattices for high-temperature applications.},
note = {Online available at: \url{https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-015-8884-5} (DOI). Schroeder, J.; Saha, B.; Garbrecht, M.; Schell, N.; Sands, T.; Birch, J.: Thermal stability of epitaxial cubic-TiN/(Al,Sc)N metal/semiconductor superlattices. Journal of Materials Science. 2015. vol. 50, no. 8, 3200-3206. DOI: 10.1007/s10853-015-8884-5}}