氢稀释对FTS沉积a-Si:H薄膜结构特性的影响

采用对靶磁控反应溅射技术,以氢气作为反应气体在不同的氢稀释比条件下制备了氢化非晶硅薄膜.利用台阶仪、傅里叶红外透射光谱、Raman谱和紫外-可见光透射谱测量研究了不同氢稀释比对氢化非晶硅薄膜生长速率和结构特性的影响.分析结果发现,利用对靶磁控溅射技术能够实现低温快速沉积高质量氢化非晶硅薄膜的制备.随着氢稀释比不断增加,薄膜沉积速率呈现先减小后增大的趋势.傅里叶红外透射光谱表明,氢化非晶硅薄膜中氢含量先增大后变小.而Raman谱和紫外-可见光透射谱分析发现,氢稀释比的增加使氢化非晶硅薄膜有序度和光学带隙均先增大后减小.可见,此技术通过改变氢稀释比R能够实现氢化非晶硅薄膜结构的有效控制.     

Magnetoresistance of nanocrystalline Co-AlN films

Co-Al-N films with different compositions were deposited by a two-facing target magnetron sputtering method for use as precursor films in the fabrication of magnetoresistive Co-AlN granular films by post-deposition annealing. It is found that the nitrogen flow ratio during sputtering deposition strongly affects the magnetic and electrical properties of Co-AlN films. In the present work, there is an optimum nitrogen flow ratio at which maximum saturation magnetizations and MR ratio (4.6%) are obtained for the annealed film. Such a film also has very high resistivity, of the order of 10⁷ μΩ cm. Another important feature of the film is that both Co and AlN are in a crystalline state, which may confer better thermal ability compared with granular films having amorphous matrix. PACS 73.43.Qt; 45.70.-n; 73.63.Bd     

Mechanical reliability of transparent conducting IZTO film electrodes for flexible panel displays

The mechanical reliability of transparent In-Zn-Sn-O (IZTO) films grown using pulsed DC magnetron sputtering with a single oxide alloyed ceramic target on a transparent polyimide (PI) substrate at room temperature is investigated. All IZTO films deposited at room temperature have an amorphous structure. However, their optical and electrical properties change depending on the oxygen partial pressure applied during depositing process. At an oxygen partial pressure of 3%, the films exhibit a resistivity of 8.3 × 10⁻⁴ Ω cm and an optical transmittance of 86%. Outer bending tests show that the critical bending radius decreases from 10 mm to 7.5 mm when the oxygen partial pressure increases from 1% to 3%. In the inner bending test, the critical bending radius is independent of oxygen partial pressure at 3.5 mm, indicating excellent film flexibility. In the dynamic fatigue test, the electrical resistance of the films reduces by less than 1% for more than 2000 bending cycles. These results suggest that IZTO films have excellent mechanical durability and flexibility in comparison to ITO films.     

Study of hydrogenated amorphous silicon nitride films prepared by RF magnetron sputtering

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon nitride films have been deposited by the rf magnetron sputtering method with non-stoichiometric and stoichiometric compositions using a poly-Si target and a mixture of Ar, H₂ and N₂ as the sputtering gas. Data on optical and infrared absorption, electrical conductivity, breakdown voltage, capacitance measurements and thermal evolution of hydrogen have been presented as a function of nitrogen concentration in the films, especially in the stoichiometric region of composition. Attempts have been made to identify the roles of hydrogen and nitrogen in determining the electrical and optical properties and thermal stability exhibited by the films. Properties relevant for device application of the material have been shown to be comparable to those obtained by glow discharge or electron cyclotron resonance plasma chemical vapour deposition methods of deposition. RF magnetron sputtering has therefore been suggested as a viable alternative to the more widely adopted CVD methods for device applications of silicon nitride, where the use of hazardous process gases can be avoided.     

Simulation of boron nitride sputtering process and its comparisonwith experimental data

In the paper, TRIM and TRIDYN simulation codes were used to simulate the sputtering processes of boron nitride (BN) films during bombardment of ions. The TRIM and TRIDYN codes are applicable to the simulation of sputtering processes of different target materials with amorphous and polycrystalline structure. The results of the simulations are compared with experimental data. The sputtering experiments of polycrystalline hexagonal BN (h-BN) and cubic BN (c-BN) films were performed in a Commonwealth Scientific Corporation (CSC) 38-cm ion beam source device. The comparison of calculated and experimental results indicated that a) the experimental sputtering yields of h-BN and c-BN films bombarded with Ar⁺ ions versus the angle of incidence are in reasonable agreement with the calculated results; b) the sputtering yields of h-BN and c-BN bombarded with Ar⁺ are nearly of the same values versus the angle of incidence-preferential sputtering of h-BN was not found; c) the calculated sputtering. Yields of BN as a function of Ar⁺ ion energy are very sensitive to values of the surface binding energy (SEE); and d) surface binding energy between 2 and 3 eV for BN appears to be reasonable for the simulation of sputtering process of h-BN and c-BN films     

The influence of sputtering procedure on nanoindentation and nanoscratch behaviour of W-S-C film

Sulphides of tungsten with its lamellar structure - whereby weak van der Waals forces act between the layers - are commonly believed to be responsible for their excellent self-lubricating properties. The present investigation is undertaken in order to explore the possibility of using this film for MEMS application. In order to achieve this objective, W-S-C films are deposited on 100Cr6 steel using radio frequency magnetron sputtering. Carbon was incorporated in the films via three different ways: (1) using a reactive gas (CH₄), (2) by co-sputtering from separate targets (WS₂ and C targets) and, (3) by co-sputtering from a C target embedded with WS₂ pellets. Microstructural features and mechanical properties of these films are evaluated with the help of scanning electron microscopy and nanoindentation. The topography, structural features and scratch behaviour are analysed using atomic force microscopy, X-ray diffraction and nanoindenter. It is noted that the film deposited by sputtering two targets exhibits the highest hardness due to high oxygen content. The highest elastic modulus pertains to the film deposited from the carbon target containing WS₂ pellets as this film has amorphous structure and the minimum porosity. The friction coefficient under scratching is the highest for reactively sputtered film whereas it is the minimum for the film deposited from the carbon target containing WS₂ pellets as this film has amorphous structure and the minimum roughness.     

Properties of amorphous carbon thin films grown by ion beam sputtering

Technical Physics - The electrical performance of amorphous carbon thin films obtained by the ion beam sputtering of a carbon target in argon has been investigated. It has been shown by the Raman...     

Optical and hydrophobic properties of co-sputtered chromium and titanium oxynitride films

The chromium and titanium oxynitride films on glass substrate were deposited by using reactive RF magnetron sputtering in the present work. The structural and optical properties of the chromium and titanium oxynitride films as a function of power variations are investigated. The chromium oxynitride films are crystalline even at low power of Cr target (≥60 W) but the titanium oxynitride films are amorphous at low target power of Ti target (≤90 W) as observed from glancing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD) patterns. The residual stress and strain of the chromium oxynitride films are calculated by sin² ψ method, as the average crystallite size decreases with the increase in sputtering power of the Cr target, higher stress and strain values are observed. The chromium oxynitride films changes from hydrophilic to hydrophobic with the increase of contact angle value from 86.4° to 94.1°, but the deposited titanium oxynitride films are hydrophilic as observed from contact angle measurements. The changes in surface energy were calculated using contact angle measurements to substantiate the hydrophobic properties of the films. UV-vis and NIR spectrophotometer were used to obtain the transmission and absorption spectra, and the later was used for determining band gap values of the films, respectively. The refractive index of chromium and titanium oxynitride films increases with film packing density due to formation of crystalline chromium and titanium oxynitride films with the gradual rise in deposition rate as a result of increase in target powers.     

RF溅射的SiO_2和SiO_2/Al/SiO_2薄膜的喇曼散射光谱研究

用射频溅射(RF Sputtering)法制成了SiO_2和SiO_2/Al/SiO_2薄膜。应用喇曼光谱研究了薄膜结构。结果表明:RF溅射制成的SiO_2薄膜是含有大量环结构缺陷的玻璃态;SiO_2/Al/SiO_2层状薄膜的喇曼光谱中观察到Al_2O_3的特征峰,证实了Al/SiO_2薄膜界面确有氧化还原反应发生;从喇曼光谱中Al_2O_3的特性峰的位置和相对强度可推断出,SiO_2/Al/SiO_2薄膜界面处的Al_2O_3是非晶γ-Al_2O_3。     

SbOx Thin Films Used for Write-Once Blue Laser Recording

SbOx thin films are deposited by reactive dc-magnetron sputtering from an antimony metal target in Ar＋O2 with the relative O2 content 7%. It is found that the as-deposited films can represent a two-component system comprising amorphous Sb and amorphous Sb2 O3. The crystallization of Sb is responsible for the changes of optical properties of the films. The results of the static test show that the SbOx thin films have good writing sensitivity for blue laser beams and the recording marks are very clear and circular. High reflectivity contrast of about 41% is obtained at a writing power 6mW and writing pulse width 300ns. In addition, the films show a good stability after reading 10000 times.     

Structural and tribological properties of nitrogen doped amorphous carbon thin films synthesized by CFUBM sputtering method for protective coatings

Nitrogen doped amorphous carbon (a-C:N) films are a material that may successfully compete with DLC coatings, which have high hardness, high wear resistance, and a low friction coefficient. The a-C:N films were prepared on silicon substrate by a closed-field unbalanced magnetron sputtering method with a graphite target and using the Ar/N₂ mixture gases. And, we investigated the effects of various DC bias voltages from 0 to −300 V on the structural and tribological properties of the a-C:N films. This study was focused on improving physical properties of the a-C:N film by controlling process parameters like negative substrate DC bias voltage. The maximum hardness of the a-C:N film was 23 GPa, the friction coefficient was 0.08, and the critical load was 25 N on a Si wafer. Consequently, the structural and tribological properties of the a-C:N film showed a clear dependence on the energy of ions bombardment and the density of the sputtering and the reaction gases during film growth.     

氢稀释对FTS沉积a-Si∶H薄膜结构特性的影响

采用对靶磁控反应溅射技术,以氢气作为反应气体在不同的氢稀释比条件下制备了氢化非晶硅薄膜.利用台阶仪、傅里叶红外透射光谱、Raman谱和紫外-可见光透射谱测量研究了不同氢稀释比对氢化非晶硅薄膜生长速率和结构特性的影响.分析结果发现,利用对靶磁控溅射技术能够实现低温快速沉积高质量氢化非晶硅薄膜的制备.随着氢稀释比不断增加,薄膜沉积速率呈现先减小后增大的趋势.傅里叶红外透射光谱表明,氢化非晶硅薄膜中氢含量先增大后变小.而Raman谱和紫外-可见光透射谱分析发现,氢稀释比的增加使氢化非晶硅薄膜有序度和光学带隙均先增大后减小.可见,此技术通过改变氢稀释比R能够实现氢化非晶硅薄膜结构的有效控制.     

Dependence of the microstructure and magnetic properties of amorphous TbFeCo films on the type and pressure of the gas in sputtering

Amorphous Tb₃₀Fe₆₀Co₁₀ films have been fabricated by magnetron sputtering. The dependences of the microstructure and magnetic properties of these films on the type and pressure of the gas in the sputtering chamber have been studied. The pressure of the Ar, Kr, and Xe gases used in the experiments is varied in the sputtering chamber from 0.01 to 4.00 Pa. It has been established that sputtering in the heavy gas (Kr) conducted within the pressure range covered does not permit fabricating TbFeCo films with the easy magnetization axis perpendicular to the film plane. With Xe used at pressures below 1.0 Pa, one observes in TbFeCo films an increase of the coercivity, with the hysteresis loop approaching rectangular shape. Sputtering and deposition in Ar at a pressure of ??0.67 Pa result in the formation of amorphous Tb₃₀Fe₆₀Co₁₀ films with magnetic characteristics satisfying the requirements imposed upon information carriers intended to be employed in perpendicular recording. It has been demonstrated that, by magnetron sputtering in an Ar atmosphere performed at pressures below 1 Pa, one can produce amorphous Tb₃₀Fe₆₀Co₁₀ films suitable for magneto-optical ultra-high-density information recording.     

Aluminum-assisted crystallization and <Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis>-type doping of polycrystalline Si

Aluminum-doped p-type polycrystalline silicon thin films have been synthesized on glass substrates using an aluminum target in a reactive SiH₄+Ar+H₂ gas mixture at a low substrate temperature of 300 °C through inductively coupled plasma-assisted RF magnetron sputtering. In this process, it is possible to simultaneously co-deposit Si–Al in one layer for crystallization of amorphous silicon, in contrast to the conventional techniques where alternating metal and amorphous Si layers are deposited. The effect of aluminum target power on the structural and electrical properties of polycrystalline Si films is analyzed by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and Hall-effect analysis. It is shown that at an aluminum target power of 100 W, the polycrystalline Si film features a high crystalline fraction of 91%, a vertically aligned columnar structure, a sheet resistance of 20.2 kΩ/□ and a hole concentration of 6.3×10¹⁸ cm⁻³. The underlying mechanism for achieving the semiconductor-quality polycrystalline silicon thin films at a low substrate temperature of 300 °C is proposed.     

Amorphous BeN as a new solid host for rare‐earth‐related luminescent materials

Beryllium‐nitride (BeN) thin films were prepared by sputtering a Be target in an atmosphere of pure nitrogen. The films were doped with samarium simply by placing a piece of Sm metal on the surface of the Be target. Under these deposition conditions the films present an amorphous structure and an optical bandgap of approx. 4 eV. They also exhibit visible light emission due to Sm³⁺ ions as a result of either photon or electron excitation. The present experimental results show that amorphous BeN films are suitable, and efficient, III‐nitride hosts for rare‐earth doping purposes. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

利用表面磁光克尔效应监测Ni薄膜生长的物相转变

利用磁控溅射方法制备了不同厚度和退火处理的Ni薄膜.表面磁光克尔效应研究表明:冷基底无退火处理的Ni薄膜为软磁性,退火处理的Ni薄膜为铁磁性质,且无退火处理的Ni金属膜磁性随膜厚的增加而增强.分析认为,冷基底条件下Ni膜是非晶态生长,且膜内存有大量缺陷,经退火处理的Ni膜发生了重融再生长,形成了大颗粒结晶,膜内晶粒内缺陷大量消失.     

A Spectroscopic Ellipsometry Study of TiO2 Thin Films Prepared by dc Reactive Magnetron Sputtering： Annealing Temperature Effect

TiO2 thin films are obtained by dc reactive magnetron sputtering. A target of titanium （99.995%） and a mixture of argon and oxygen gases are used to deposit TiO2 films on to silicon wafers （100）. The crystalline structure of deposited and annealed film are deduced by variable-angle spectroscopic ellipsometry （VASE） and supported by x-ray diffractometry. The optical properties of the films are examined by VASE. Measurements of ellipsometry are performed in the spectral range O. 72-3.55 e V at incident angle 75^o. Several SE models, categorized by physical and optical models, are proposed based on the ＇simpler better＇ rule and curve-fits, which are generated and compared to the experimental data using the regression analysis. It has been found that the triple-layer physical model together with the Cody-Lorentz dispersion model offer the most convincing result. The as-deposited films are found to be inhomogeneous and amorphous, whereas the annealed films present the phase transition to anatase and rutile structures. The refractive index of TiO2 thin films increases with annealing temperature. A more detailed analysis further reveals that thickness of the top sub-layer increases, whereas the region of the bottom amorphous sub-layer shrinks when the films are annealed at 300℃.     

Systematic investigation of the reactive ion beam sputter deposition process of SiO<Subscript>2</Subscript>

Ion beam sputter deposition (IBSD) is an established physical vapour deposition technique that offers the opportunity to tailor the properties of film-forming particles and, consequently, film properties. This is because of two reasons: (i) ion generation and acceleration (ion source), sputtering (target) and film deposition (substrate) are locally separated. (ii) The angular and energy distribution of sputtered target atoms and scattered primary particles depend on ion incidence angle, ion energy, and ion species. Ion beam sputtering of a Si target in a reactive oxygen atmosphere was used to grow SiO₂ films on silicon substrates. The sputtering geometry, ion energy and ion species were varied systematically and their influence on film properties was investigated. The SiO₂ films are amorphous. The growth rate increases with increasing ion energy and ion incidence angle. Thickness, index of refraction, stoichiometry, mass density and surface roughness show a strong correlation with the sputtering geometry. A considerable amount of primary inert gas particles is found in the deposited films. The primary ion species also has an impact on the film properties, whereas the influence of the ion energy is rather small.     

Synthesis and characterization of superhard Ti-Si-N films obtained in an inductively coupled plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (ICP-CVD) with magnetic confinement

Using a novel inductively coupled plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (ICP-CVD) with magnetic confinement system, Ti-Si-N films were prepared on single-crystal silicon wafer substrates by sputtering Ti and Si (5 at.%:1 at.%) alloyed target in argon/nitrogen plasma. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Nano Indenter XP tester were employed to characterize nanostructure and performances of the films. These films were essentially composed of TiN nanocrystallites embedded in an amorphous Si₃N₄ matrix with maximum hardness value of 44 GPa. Experimental results showed that the film hardness was mainly dependent on the TiN crystallite size and preferred orientation, which could be tailored by the adjustment of the N₂/Ar ratio. When the N₂/Ar ratio was 3, the film possessed the minimum TiN size of 10.5 nm and the maximum hardness of 44 GPa.     

直流磁控溅射制备AlN薄膜的结构和表面粗糙度

采用直流磁控反应溅射法,在Si(111)基底上成功制备了多晶六方相AlN薄膜.研究了溅射过程中溅射气压对薄膜结构和表面粗糙度的影响.结果表明:当溅射气压低于0.6 Pa时,薄膜为非晶态,在傅里叶变换红外光谱中,没有明显的吸收峰;当溅射气压不低于0.6 Pa时,薄膜的X射线衍射图中均出现了六方相的AlN(100)、(11...