Role of oxygen contaminant on the physical properties of sputtered AlN thin films

Signore, M.A.; Taurino, A.; Valerini, D.; Rizzo, A.; Farella, I.; Catalano, M.; Quaranta, F.; Siciliano, P.

doi:10.1016/j.jallcom.2015.05.289

Cited by 32 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Competitive columnar growth between (111)-and (200)-oriented ZrN crystallites during sputter-deposition of ZrN monolithic films was discussed previously [23,35]. The (200) preferred orientation is characteristic for CrN films [39,40], as well as (002) preferred orientation is typical for h-AlN films [41][42][43]. Torino et al [42] reported a transition from (101) to (002) preferred orientation for AlN films with decreasing (Ar + N 2 ) working pressure in the chamber.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 92%

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Structural Properties and Oxidation Resistance of ZrN/SiNx, CrN/SiNx and AlN/SiNx Multilayered Films Deposited by Magnetron Sputtering Technique

et al. 2020

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In the present work, the structure, stress state and phase composition of MeN/SiNx (Me = Zr, Cr, Al) multilayered films with the thickness of elementary layers in nanoscale range, as well as their stability to high temperature oxidation, were studied. Monolithic (reference) and multilayered films were deposited on Si substrates at the temperatures of 300 °C (ZrN/SiNx and AlN/SiNx systems) or 450 °C (CrN/SiNx) by reactive magnetron sputtering. The thickness ratios of MeN to SiNx were 5 nm/2 nm, 5 nm/5 nm, 5 nm/10 nm and 2 nm/5 nm. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray Reflectivity (XRR) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD) testified to the uniform alternation of MeN and SiNx layers with sharp interlayer boundaries. It was observed that MeN sublayers have a nanocrystalline structure with (001) preferred orientation at 5 nm, but are X-ray amorphous at 2 nm, while SiNx sublayers are always X-ray amorphous. The stability of the coatings to oxidation was investigated by in situ XRD analysis (at the temperature range of 400–950 °C) along with the methods of wavelength-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (WDS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) after air annealing procedure. Reference ZrN and CrN films started to oxidize at the temperatures of 550 and 700 °C, respectively, while the AlN reference film was thermally stable up to 950 °C. Compared to reference monolithic films, MeN/SiNx multilayers have an improved oxidation resistance (onset of oxidation is shifted by more than 200 °C), and the performance is enhanced with increasing fraction of SiNx layer thickness. Overall, CrN/SiNx and AlN/SiNx multilayered films are characterized by noticeably higher resistance to oxidation as compared to ZrN/SiNx multilayers, the best performance being obtained for CrN/SiNx and AlN/SiNx with 5 nm/5 nm and 5 nm/10 nm periods, which remain stable at least up to 950 °C.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…Torino et al [42] reported a transition from (101) to (002) preferred orientation for AlN films with decreasing (Ar + N 2 ) working pressure in the chamber. The presence of (002) orientation means that the AlN crystallites are highly oriented with the c-axis perpendicular to the substrate surface [43,44].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Structural Properties and Oxidation Resistance of ZrN/SiNx, CrN/SiNx and AlN/SiNx Multilayered Films Deposited by Magnetron Sputtering Technique

et al. 2020

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“…The energy gap of 1.0 eV determined the semiconductor behavior of the film, with more Si content (see Figure 5c), which can be related to conduction jumps among the different potential barriers produced by the crystallites of c-(Ti, Al, Si) N and the intrinsic defects of the films that separate these metallic domains. These defects cause strong changes in the electronic structure and metal-semiconductor transitions, resulting in a hopping process in the transport of electrical charge 34 . Figure 6a shows the transmittance behavior of the (Al,Ti,Si)N film as a function of the wavelength and as a study parameter, the Si amount.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of Si on the Structural, Electrical, and Optical Properties of (Al, Ti, Si)N Films Deposited Via Reactive DC Sputtering

2020

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The physical and chemical properties of multifunctional materials have been extensively studied in the last few years especially the mechanical and tribological applications and less attention has taken the electrical and optical properties. Therefore, in this work presents the growth of (Al, Ti, Si)N films deposited on common glass substrates with a maximum thickness of 1024 nm, via reactive DC magnetron sputtering, to analyze the influence of the silicon content on their crystallographic structure, optic and electric behavior. The microstructure of the films was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The films morphology was evaluated through scanning electronic microscopy (SEM). The optical measurements were carried out by means UV-vis spectroscopy, and the electrical properties were analyzed using a four-point probe. XRD analysis indicated that the films changed from a crystalline phase to an amorphous phase, and the electrical and optical response indicated that the films with higher Si content have l223.6 Ω.cm of resistivity with an energy gap of approximately 1.0 eV and an optical energy gap of 1.5 eV. This electrical property has not been previously reported in these films.

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“…Based on the comparison of optical transmittance between the AlN film and sputtered AlN NL, we assumed that the AlN NL was directly responsible for the variation of the optical transmittance. The incorporation of oxygen into the AlN layer would affect the optical properties of the AlN film on sapphire substrate [27,28,29]. The incorporation of oxygen into the growing AlN layer was inevitable during the high-temperature MOCVD growth process [36,37].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The ex situ nanometer-scale-thick sputtered AlN NL has also been widely applied for the growth of high-quality AlN film on sapphire substrate [23,24,25,26]. However, the sputtering chamber may have contaminants such as oxygen, which can be incorporated into the AlN NL during the sputtering process, impacting the physical properties of sputtered AlN NL [27,28,29]. Understanding the effect of oxygen-doped sputtered AlN NL on the subsequent AlN film is important to the realization of high-efficiency DUV LEDs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Heteroepitaxial Growth of High-Quality and Crack-Free AlN Film on Sapphire Substrate with Nanometer-Scale-Thick AlN Nucleation Layer for AlGaN-Based Deep Ultraviolet Light-Emitting Diodes

Zhao

Lei

et al. 2019

Nanomaterials

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High-quality and crack-free aluminum nitride (AlN) film on sapphire substrate is the foundation for high-efficiency aluminum gallium nitride (AlGaN)-based deep ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (DUV LEDs). We reported the growth of high-quality and crack-free AlN film on sapphire substrate with a nanometer-scale-thick AlN nucleation layer (NL). Three kinds of nanometer-scale-thick AlN NLs, including in situ low-temperature AlN (LT-AlN) NL, oxygen-undoped ex situ sputtered AlN NL, and oxygen-doped ex situ sputtered AlN NL, were prepared for epitaxial growth of AlN films on sapphire substrates. The influence of nanoscale AlN NL thickness on the optical transmittance, strain state, surface morphology, and threading dislocation (TD) density of the grown AlN film on sapphire substrate were carefully investigated. The average optical transmittance of AlN film on sapphire substrate with oxygen-doped sputtered AlN NL was higher than that of AlN films on sapphire substrates with LT-AlN NL and oxygen-undoped sputtered AlN NL in the 200–270 nm wavelength region. However, the AlN film on sapphire substrate with oxygen-undoped sputtered AlN NL had the lowest TD density among AlN films on sapphire substrates. The AlN film on sapphire substrate with the optimum thickness of sputtered AlN NL showed weak tensile stress, a crack-free surface, and low TD density. Furthermore, a 270-nm AlGaN-based DUV LED was grown on the high-quality and crack-free AlN film. We believe that our results offer a promising and practical route for obtaining high-quality and crack-free AlN film for DUV LED.

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Role of oxygen contaminant on the physical properties of sputtered AlN thin films

Cited by 32 publications

References 31 publications

Structural Properties and Oxidation Resistance of ZrN/SiNx, CrN/SiNx and AlN/SiNx Multilayered Films Deposited by Magnetron Sputtering Technique

Structural Properties and Oxidation Resistance of ZrN/SiNx, CrN/SiNx and AlN/SiNx Multilayered Films Deposited by Magnetron Sputtering Technique

Influence of Si on the Structural, Electrical, and Optical Properties of (Al, Ti, Si)N Films Deposited Via Reactive DC Sputtering

Heteroepitaxial Growth of High-Quality and Crack-Free AlN Film on Sapphire Substrate with Nanometer-Scale-Thick AlN Nucleation Layer for AlGaN-Based Deep Ultraviolet Light-Emitting Diodes

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