Effect of laser and thermal annealing on optical and structural properties of amorphous metal alloys

The results of ellipsometric measurements of rough and annealed amorphous alloys of 3d-transition metals (Fe, Ni, and Co) with metalloids are presented. Composition of alloys, directions of steady-state bonds between their compounds, and frequencies of the Auger electron transitions are determined by the methods of Auger spectroscopy and from the Raman spectra. Frequencies of metal-metalloid oscillations are determined and strains arising in nanoregions of the crystalline phase are obtained. Different characters of thermal and laser actions on the optical properties of alloys are established, and changes in the optical properties caused by these actions are compared. ©2002 Plenum Publishing Corporation.