Abstract
Effects of sputtering power on the deposition rate and microstructure, crystallinity, and electrical properties of Ag films during direct current (DC) magnetron sputtering are investigated. Thin films (~ 100 nm) are deposited at sputtering powers of 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 300 W and analyzed by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and a four-point probe. The film deposited at a sputtering power of 10 W has the lowest growth rate, but the highest crystalline quality, with the lowest full width at half maximum (FWHM) and the lowest resistivity. The film deposited at a sputtering power of 200 W has the highest growth rate, and the second best crystalline quality in view of FWHM and resistivity. The film deposited at a sputtering power of 50 W has the moderate growth rate, and the worst crystalline quality in view of FWHM and resistivity. High-resolution TEM observations reveal that films deposited at sputtering powers of 10 and 200 W have far fewer defects, such as grain boundaries, dislocations and stacking faults than those deposited at a sputtering power of 50 W. Such deposition behavior could be explained by sputtering power, which affected the generation of the charged nanoparticles. And the high quality of films could be obtained at a high deposition rate, in which charge plays an important role.Graphic
Highlights
Crystal growth can be described using a terraceledge-kink (TLK) model [1], where the building block is an atom, ion or molecule
Since the thin film deposited at the sputtering power of 10 W has a very low deposition rate, it was difficult to analyze the resistivity by a four-point probe and the crystallinity by X-ray diffraction (XRD) if the deposition time is the same as that of the other sputtering power
The growth rate and quality of Ag films were affected by the sputtering power during deposition by direct current (DC) magnetron sputtering
Summary
Crystal growth can be described using a terraceledge-kink (TLK) model [1], where the building block is an atom, ion or molecule. Park et al [18] compared the plasma dewetting kinetics of Sn films, deposited by sputtering on a native oxide of silicon, between floating and grounded conditions of the surface, and observed that the plasma dewetting kinetics were much faster in the floating condition than in the grounded one Based on such deposition behavior of CNPs, they suggested that charge enhances the atomic mobility of nanoparticles or renders them liquid-like. Yoshida et al [20, 21] reported the concept of film growth by ‘hot cluster epitaxy’ or ‘plasma flash evaporation’, where nanoparticles were evaporated by thermal plasma and the condensed clusters contributed to film growth They did not mention the role of charge, we believe that their clusters were charged. 20–50 W, and charged clusters when the sputtering power is 100–300 W
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