Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 February 2011
Synchrotron radiation photoemission studies of ultra-thin Yb diffusion barriers at the interface between Mercury-Cadmium-Telluride semiconductors and Ag overlayers show that the interlayers act as effective diffusion barrier only after thicknesses of 10-15 Å are reached. Studies of interlayer morphology by means of photoemission from physisorbed Xe indicate that effective diffusion barriers are consistent with a model in which a continous Yb-Te reacted layer is covered by an Yb-rich layer with high alloying enthalpy for Hg.