Argon ion beam voltages influence the microstructure of aluminum nitride films in a dual ion beam sputtering system

Abstract

Aluminum nitride (AlN) films, using a dual ion beam sputtering, were prepared over the argon ion beam voltage ranging from 800 to 1200V at room temperature. The AlN films were (002) and (100) planes. Excepting for operating at 1000V, the AlN films exhibited the (002) preferred orientation. The growth exponents ranged from 0.27 to 0.23 and decreased with increasing argon ion beam voltage. The concentration of aluminum was richer than that of nitrogen in the films at all argon ion beam voltages. The concentration of aluminum decreased markedly with increasing the texture coefficient of AlN(002) plane.