Preparation of Al-Cu-Fe thin films by vapor deposition technique from a single source

In this paper, we report the formation of stable icosahedral Al-Cu-Fe quasicrystalline thin films by thermal vapor deposition techniques (indirect heating and e-beam heating) from a single source. Deposition of these films by a single-source indirect heating method, in the stable icosahedral phase, is reported for the first time. A direct comparison between the two different heating methods has been made. The final compositions of the prepared films with desired properties were found to be Al_62.9Cu_24.6Fe_12.5 (indirect heating method) and Al_63.1Cu_24.5Fe_12.4 (e-beam method), respectively. The resistivities of the films prepared by both methods were ∼2000 μΩ cm at room temperature and ∼4000 μΩ cm at 10 K.