LAUSR

Abstract Amorphous alloy films have much potential for application in many fields. However, their preparation suffers from a disadvantage that the amorphous forming composition range (AFCR) of alloy system is narrow. This study explored a route to widen AFCR by controlling the deposition rate. A series of A l 100 − x M o x ( 10 ≤ x ≤ 50 ) alloy films were deposited with different deposition rates by magnetron sputtering. The deposition rate of Al (DAl) was set in the range of 5 − 30 nm / min ; the deposition rate of Mo (DMo) was adjusted as per equal proportion in terms of DAl and stoichiometry. No amorphous phase formation was observed when the DAl was as high as 30 nm/min. However, with the decrease in deposition rate, the AFCR increased dramatically. The AFCR even widened to 15 ≤ x ≤ 40, close to the limit of possible AFCR (15 ≤ x ≤ 47) when DAl decreased to 5 nm/min. The mechanism of decrease in deposition rate on widening of AFCR was elucidated from the perspective of nucleation and growth of films.