Structural characterization of Ni–Al (111) interface by surface x-ray absorption spectroscopy

The evolution of the Ni/Al(111) interface has been studied in situ by x-ray absorption spectroscopy at the Ni–K edge. Ni films were deposited on bulk Al(111) with thickness ranging from 2 monolayers (ML) up to 30 ML. The aim was to determine the diffusion length of Ni and the phases that have formed. Ni diffused spontaneously at room temperature to a depth that we estimated to be of the order of 11 ML. The structure of Ni/Al(111) mixed interface has been characterized by x-ray absorption spectroscopy. With respect to previous studies on Al(110) the first phase formed on Al(111) is Al3Ni2-like instead of AlNi-like. Accordingly to previous observations, an AlNi3 phase forms on top of Al3Ni2 after the deposition of the first few monolayers. We propose that the pure Ni growth observed after deposition of 11 ML is due to the presence of the AlNi3 aluminide that acts as a diffusion barrier preventing deeper Ni penetration into Al at room temperature