Structural and mechanical properties of a-axis AlN thin films growth using reactive RF magnetron sputtering plasma
Microelectronics International
ISSN: 1356-5362
Article publication date: 16 June 2021
Issue publication date: 2 September 2021
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to report the influence of sputtering plasma deposition time on the structural and mechanical properties of the a-axis oriented aluminium nitride (AlN) thin films.
Design/methodology/approach
The AlN films were prepared using RF magnetron sputtering plasma on a silicon substrate without any external heating with various deposition times. The films were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), atomic force microscope (AFM) and nanoindentation techniques.
Findings
The XRD results show that the AlN thin films are highly oriented along the (100) AlN plane at various deposition times indicating the a-axis preferred orientation. All the AlN thin films exhibit hexagonal AlN with a wurtzite structure. The hardness and Young’s modulus of AlN thin films with various deposition times were measured using a nanoindenter. The measured hardness of the AlN films on Si was in the range of 14.1 to 14.7 GPa. The surface roughness and the grain size measured using the AFM revealed that both are dependent on the deposition times.
Originality/value
The novelty of this work lies with a comparison of hardness and Young’s modulus result obtained at different sputtering deposition temperature. This study also provides the relation of AlN thin films’ crystallinity with the hardness of the deposited films.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors received funding from the following grants :CREST Fund P28C1–17; Universiti Malaya LR001A-2016A; Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia GPPS Grant H022.
Citation
Bakri, A.S., Nayan, N., Soon, C.F., Ahmad, M.K., Abu Bakar, A.S., Abd Majid, W.H. and Raship, N.A. (2021), "Structural and mechanical properties of a-axis AlN thin films growth using reactive RF magnetron sputtering plasma", Microelectronics International, Vol. 38 No. 3, pp. 99-104. https://doi.org/10.1108/MI-02-2021-0015
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited