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Interface Bonding of Zr1-xAlxN Nanocomposites Investigated by X-ray Spectroscopies and First Principles Calculations

The electronic structure, chemical bonding and interface component in ZrN-AlN nanocomposites formed by phase separation during thin film deposition of metastable Zr1-xAlxN (x=0.0, 0.12, 0.26, 0.40) is investigated by resonant inelastic X-ray scattering/X-ray emission and X-ray absorption spectroscopy and compared to first-principles calculations including transitions between orbital angular momentum final states. The experimental spectra are compared with different interface-slab model systems using first-principle all electron full-potential calculations where the core states are treated fully relativistic. As shown in this work, the bulk sensitivity and element selectivity of X-ray spectroscopy enables to probe the symmetry and orbital directions at interfaces between cubic and hexagonal crystals. We show how the electronic structure develop from local octahedral bond symmetry of cubic ZrN that distorts for increasing Al content into more complex bonding. This results in three different kinds of bonding originating from semi-coherent interfaces with segregated ZrN and lamellar AlN nanocrystalline precipitates. An increasing chemical shift and charge transfer between the elements takes place with increasing Al content and affects the bond strength and increases resistivity.