Aluminum diffusion and reaction in thin films of perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylic dianhydride: Depth profiles and time-dependent diffusion coefficients

Diffusion and reaction of aluminum metal species (Al) vacuum deposited on perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylic dianhydride (PTCDA) thin films were investigated using angle resolved x-ray photoemission spectroscopy. The acquired data were analyzed assuming that the diffusion of Al is described by a one-dimensional diffusion equation with a time-dependent diffusion coefficient. Depth profiles and diffusion coefficients are obtained for reacted and metallic Al separately. The results show that the metallic Al diffuses rapidly during the deposition while the metal diffusion continues at a lower rate even after the deposition at room temperature. On the other hand, the reacted Al does not diffuse further into the PTCDA layers.