Au and Pt Diffusion in Electrodeposited Amorphous Sb2Te3 Thin Films

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Abstract

Amorphous Sb2Te3 thin films are synthesized using electrodeposition in different thicknesses to explore their solid electrolytic nature with respect to some noble metals. Au and Pt are used as the substrate materials and thermally diffused into the Sb2Te3 films under passivated and nonpassivated conditions. Rutherford backscattering spectrometry is used to study the Au and Pt diffusion into the films as a function of depth. It is found that Au diffuses into the Sb2Te3 thin films even at room temperature. In contrast, there is no observable diffusion of Pt at room temperature. At a higher temperature (i.e., 200C), both Au and Pt diffuse into the Sb2Te3 thin films and Au diffusion is more significant than Pt. The findings suggest that amorphous Sb2Te3 can be used as a good solid electrolyte to permit the diffusion of some noble metals such as Au and Pt.