Low-temperature formation ofc-axis-oriented aluminum nitride thin films by plasma-assisted reactive pulsed-DC magnetron sputtering

Abstract

The low-temperature formation of c-axis-oriented aluminum nitride thin films was demonstrated by plasma-assisted reactive pulsed-DC magnetron sputtering. The effects of the duty cycle at the pulsed-DC voltage applied to the Al target on the properties of AlN films formed via inductively coupled plasma (ICP)-enhanced pulsed-DC magnetron sputtering deposition were investigated. With decreasing duty cycle at the target voltage, the peak intensity of AlN(0002) increased linearly. The surface roughness of AlN films decreased since there was an increase in film density owing to the impact of energetic ions on the films together with the enhancement of nitriding associated with the relative increase in N radical flux. The improvement of both the crystallinity and surface morphology of AlN films at low temperatures is considered to be caused by the difference between the relative flux values of ions and sputtered atoms.

Impact of Pulse Parameters of a DC Power Generator on the Microstructural and Mechanical Properties of Sputtered AlN Film with In-Situ OES Data Analysis

“…We compared relevant literature and found that the FWHM ranged from 0.28 • -0.36 • and decreased with a decrease in duty cycle (20-70%). However, the pulse frequency used in the literature was 100 kHz, which may not be sufficient to achieve the desired plasma activity and concentration [34]. Compared with other studies using asymmetric bipolar pulse deposition of AlN thin films, our results also showed better performance [35].…”

Aluminum surface nitriding by an atmospheric-pressure non-thermal plasma technique

“…Plasma nitriding treatment can make aluminum and its alloys have excellent physical and chemical properties. [1][2][3] In this regard, various methods have been developed, including plasma immersion ion implantation, 4,5) plasma chemical vapor deposition, [6][7][8] magnetron sputtering, 9,10) and active screen plasma nitriding. 11,12) However, most of these methods demand a vacuum system, which limits the size of the processed material and increases the process complexity.…”