High-throughput synthesis and characterization methods can significantly accelerate the rate of experimental research. For physical vapor deposition (PVD), these methods include combinatorial sputtering with intentional gradients of metal/metalloid composition, temperature, and thickness across the substrate. However, many other synthesis parameters still remain out of reach for combinatorial methods. Here, we extend combinatorial sputtering parameters to include gradients of gaseous elements in thin films. Specifically, a nitrogen gradient was generated in a thin film sample library by placing two MnTe sputtering sources with different gas flows (Ar and Ar/N₂) opposite of one another during the synthesis. The nitrogen content gradient was measured along the sample surface, correlating with the distance from the nitrogen source. The phase, composition, and optoelectronic properties of the resulting thin films change as a function of the nitrogen content. This work shows that gradients of gaseous elements can be generated in thin films synthesized by sputtering, expanding the boundaries of combinatorial science.

中文翻译：

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溅射薄膜中的组合氮梯度

高通量合成和表征方法可以大大加快实验研究的速度。对于物理气相沉积（PVD），这些方法包括组合溅射，对金属/准金属成分，温度和整个基板的厚度进行有意的渐变。但是，许多其他综合参数对于组合方法仍然遥不可及。在这里，我们扩展了组合溅射参数，以包括薄膜中气态元素的梯度。具体而言，通过放置两个具有不同气流（Ar和Ar / N _2）的MnTe溅射源，在薄膜样品库中产生了氮梯度）在合成过程中彼此相对。沿样品表面测量氮含量梯度，与距氮源的距离相关。所得薄膜的相，组成和光电性质随氮含量而变化。这项工作表明，在通过溅射合成的薄膜中可以生成气态元素的梯度，从而扩展了组合科学的范围。