Coatings Based on Al2Au Intermetallic Compound: Structure and Optical Properties

Abstract

The methods of X-ray diffraction analysis and transmission electron microscopy were used to study the structure of coatings based on the Al₂Au intermetallic compound. It has been shown that after the deposition, the coating is in an amorphous state. The annealing of the coating at 500°C for 15 min results in initial stages of crystallization. In the annealed coating, signs of a retained amorphous structure and grains of the Al₂Au intermetallic compound with a size of 30–100 nm are observed. In addition, a small amount of the intermetallic phase AlAu is fixed in the coating after annealing. Optical characteristics of the annealed sample have been measured; a comparison with literature data on the structure and optical properties of coatings obtained by different methods was performed.