Synthesis and Surface Acoustic Wave Property of Aluminum Nitride Thin Films Fabricated on Silicon and Diamond Substrates Using the Sputtering Method

Abstract

C-axis oriented aluminum nitride (AlN) thin films with a thickness of 1 µm were prepared by reactive DC magnetron sputtering on polycrystalline diamond substrates at a substrate temperature of 623 K. The average surface roughness (Ra) of the AlN thin films was less than 2 nm obtained by locating the diamond substrates at a position of 100 mm from the aluminum target. The full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the rocking curve for the AlN(002) peak determined by X-ray diffraction analysis was about 0.2°. The surface acoustic wave (SAW) structures were completed by the deposition of aluminum electrodes on the as-deposited AlN surfaces. The SAW characteristics of an interdigital transducer (IDT)/AlN/diamond structure were investigated. The phase velocity and coupling coefficient were 10,120 m/s and 0.3%, respectively.