Characterization of sputtered Al-B-Si thin films produced with composite targets for device applications

Abstract

AbstractSputtered films were deposited over glass and silicon (Si) substrates by using homemade centrifuged aluminum (Al) targets containing boron (B) AlB2 and AlB12 particles as their constituents. Additional films were produced with an as-received aluminum target for comparison purposes. The composite targets were mounted in the magnetron sputtering system working at varying discharge powers, ranging from 200 to 450 W, to produce films with the smallest surface roughness. This roughness analysis showed that films deposited from the composite targets (fabricated by centrifugal casting) possessed lower surface roughness than the pure aluminum films if they were deposited over silicon substrates. Also, preliminary studies of film structure and mechanical properties revealed that the films produced with the composite targets had smaller grain size, dominant compression stresses, higher disorder in the crystalline structure, and higher hardness and elastic modulus, when compared with the films produced with the pure aluminum target.