The Influence of the Oxygen Partial Pressure on the Ion Nitriding of Al - an Investigation by means of Real Time In-situ Elastic Recoil Detection Analysis

Aluminium is known as a promising but difficult candidate for successful nitriding. It exhibits a dense native surface oxide layer that acts as a barrier for diffusional nitrogen transport. To investigate the influence of the oxygen partial pressure, samples of pure polycrystalline Aluminum have been ion nitrided at different oxygen partial pressures from a hot filament ion source. Before and during the nitriding process depth profiling of nitrogen and oxygen has been performed by in-situ Real Time Elastic Recoil Detection. The oxygen partial pressure plays a crucial role for the evolution of the surface oxide layer and thus for the nitriding result. If the surface oxide layer is removed an AlN-layer grows. The results are compared to semi-quantitative considerations on the interplay of sputtering and oxidation. A criteria for the removal of the surface oxide layer is given.