Ti and Al layers formation during low energy ion-plasma treatment of copper

The low energy (E<3 keV) irradiation of copper surface by Ti and Al ions from the vacuum arc plasma separated flux was studied in the presented paper. The results of the titanium and aluminum concentration profiles measurements are presented in dependence on the irradiation dose and the bed temperature. It was found that the bombarded ion depth ward essentially exceeds the ion projection path and depends on the bed temperature and on ion species. Ti and Al interstitial impurities accumulation is a thermal activated process with a characteristic energy of 7–15 kJ/g·mol. One of the possible interpretations of the obtained results is the radiation-induced diffusion of the interstitial impurities. The data obtained by the nuclear reactions method correlate with the implanted dose measurements by the X-ray fluorescence method.