High Temperature Annealing Studies on the Piezoelectric Properties of Thin Aluminum Nitride Films

Abstract

A Rapid Thermal Annealing (RTA) system was used to anneal sputtered and MOVPE grown Aluminum Nitride (AlN) thin films at temperatures up to 1000°C in ambient and controlled environments. According to Energy Dispersive X-Ray Analysis (EDAX), the films annealed in an ambient environment rapidly oxidize after five minutes at 1000°C. Below 1000°C the films oxidized linearly as a function of annealing temperature which is consistent with what has been reported in literature [1]. Laser Doppler Vibrometry (LDV) was used to measure the piezoelectric coefficient, d33, of these films. Films annealed in an ambient environment had a weak piezoelectric response indicating that oxidation on the surface of the film reduces the value of d33. A high temperature furnace has been built that is capable of taking in-situ measurements of the piezoelectric response of AlN films. In-situ d33 measurements are recorded up to 300°C for both sputtered and MOVPE-grown AlN thin films. The measured piezoelectric response appears to increase with temperature up to 300°C possibly due to stress in the film.