Published online by Cambridge University Press: 08 March 2011
In this contribution we report on the dynamics of the phase evolution in electrochemically deposited Sn thin films on copper coated substrates studied by in-situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Focused Ion Beam Microscopy (FIB). The data obtained is used to extract fundamental parameters such as the activation energy and the rate constant of the reaction. Results indicate that the formation of intermetallic phases in these thin layers, in which the grain size exceeds the layer thickness, is not limited by diffusion but rather by reaction kinetics.