An Application of Nucleation Theory to Thin-Film Annealing

Abstract

The growth process of a binary system that has been heat treated and quenched has been modeled using the Becker-Doring nucleation theory. Growth rate and composition profiles have been evaluated. The model clearly favors the precipitations of components rather than the formation of large clusters that may span the entire system. Comparison of calculated composition with those obtained from an Invariant Field Approximation indicates the current method to give better estimates of the composition.