Production and visualization of quaternary combinatorial thin films

A new method for the production of four-component (element or compound) combinatorial thin films is presented. The combinatorial thin film consists of nine continuous four-component regions producing planes in quaternary composition space. The method allows for the coverage of large continuous regions of quaternary or pseudoquaternary systems. The magnetron sputtering deposition method is mechanically simple and uses existing infrastructure. New software for the visualization of quaternary data is also presented. This software allows the straightforward identification of composition-dependent properties such as x-ray diffraction intensities. The new production method and software are demonstrated with a four-element combinatorial thin film containing Si, Sn, Co and C.