Nanomechanical and Morphological Characterization of Tungsten Trioxide (WO3) Thin Films Grown by Atomic Layer Deposition

M. A. Mamun,A. A. Elmustafa,K. Zhang,H. Baumgart

doi:10.1149/2.0241509jss

Abstract

This study investigates the nanomechanical properties and surface morphology of tungsten oxide (WO3) thin films deposited on p-type Si (100) substrates using atomic layer deposition (ALD) technology with 2000 ALD deposition cycles at a growth temperature of 300°C and annealed at different temperatures. The samples were further furnace annealed at 500, 600 and 700°C for 60 min. The influence of the deposition process on the structure and properties of the WO3 films is discussed, presented and correlated to the characteristic features of the ALD technique. The results depict significant difference in the hardness and modulus measurements between the as deposited sample and the annealed ones. The hardness and modulus drop from 14 and 170 GPa for the as deposited sample to 10 and 140 GPa for the annealed ones respectively. Surface roughness was observed to increase with annealing temperature and the initially amorphous as deposited sample reached complete recrystallization and transformed into polycrystalline films as indicated by XRD.

Highlights

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Tungsten oxides are known for their use as solid lubricants at elevated temperatures and they have been used as powdery materials for tribological coatings or as component of ceramics.[26]
The ALD tungsten trioxide WO3 films were deposited on native oxide covered (100) oriented Si substrates of four inch diameter by a thermal ALD synthesis process in a Savannah 100 cross-flow reactor from Ultratech Cambridge Nanotech

Summary

Introduction

Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/mae_fac_pubs Part of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Commons, and the Physics Commons. These smart windows receive a thin coating of tungsten trioxide with transparent electrical contacts that allow changing the light transmission properties through the window with an applied voltage.

Results

Conclusion