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Publication
JES
Paper
Influence of the Growth Conditions of Al2O3 Passivating Layers on the Corrosion of Aluminum Films in Water
Abstract
The effects of water vapor on the oxidation kinetics of UHV-deposited Al films have been investigated using in situ ellipsometric measurements. For a given exposure time, the presence of ~33% H2O increases the Al2O3 thickness by ~50% and roughly doubles the extinction coefficient of the oxide. We attribute the nonzero extinction coefficients (with a range in values from 0.05 to 0.18) as being due to the presence of excess Al in the oxide. The “wet”-grown Al2O3 layers oxidize at least twice as fast as “dry”-grown layers on storing of samples in a normal laboratory environment. Furthermore, the relative effectiveness of the passivation provided to the underlying Al is greater for the “dry”- than the “wet”-grown AI2O3 layers. Gravimetric and electrical resistance data from samples exposed to an aqueous corrosion test are given to support this. © 1981, The Electrochemical Society, Inc. All rights reserved.