Influence of Annealing Temperature on Mechanical and Wetting Properties of β-FeSi₂ Films Built Using Facing-Targets Direct-Current Sputtering

Wetting state and mechanical property alteration for the Fe3Si films using rapid thermal annealing under various temperatures

“…This is due to the merits of FTS. The facing targets provide a magnetic field that zones out plasma from the vicinity of the substrate holder [ [12] , [13] , [14] , [15] ]. This effectively prevents bombardment damage and reduces unnecessary thermal energy from the plasma during deposition [ [12] , [13] , [14] , [15] ].…”

“…The facing targets provide a magnetic field that zones out plasma from the vicinity of the substrate holder [ [12] , [13] , [14] , [15] ]. This effectively prevents bombardment damage and reduces unnecessary thermal energy from the plasma during deposition [ [12] , [13] , [14] , [15] ]. Meanwhile, low temperatures of 200 and 400 °C are not adequate for inducing the diffusion of atoms to significantly develop the crystallites.…”

“…Based on former studies linked to this present work, our research group epitaxially manufactured the Fe 3 Si films onto Si ((111)-orientation) wafers using the FTS [ 1 , 2 ]. The FTS layout comprises a couple of sputtering targets set far from a substrate holder while both targets face each other allowing the magnetic confinement to occur [ [12] , [13] , [14] , [15] ]. This setup allows the machine to produce high-density plasma under low pressure and minimize the plasma damage, to create a seamless film with miniscule stoichiometry error [ [12] , [13] , [14] , [15] ].…”

“…The FTS layout comprises a couple of sputtering targets set far from a substrate holder while both targets face each other allowing the magnetic confinement to occur [ [12] , [13] , [14] , [15] ]. This setup allows the machine to produce high-density plasma under low pressure and minimize the plasma damage, to create a seamless film with miniscule stoichiometry error [ [12] , [13] , [14] , [15] ]. The authors have recently reported the impact of microwave plasma etching under argon (Ar) atmosphere and variation of its power on the physical features of the Fe 3 Si films, where we discovered that the hydrophobic condition for the Fe 3 Si layer without etching turned into a hydrophilic condition after exposing to Ar etching [ 1 ].…”