Influence Of Sputtering Pressure Research Articles

Influence of Sputtering Pressure on the Conductivity and Transparency of Aluminum-Doped Zinc Oxide Films

Influence of Sputtering Pressure on the Conductivity and Transparency of Aluminum-Doped Zinc Oxide Films

Influence of Sputtering Pressure on the Micro-Topography of Sputtered Cu/Si Films: Integrated Multiscale Simulation

In this work, an integrated multiscale simulation of magnetron sputtering epitaxy was conducted to study the effect of sputtering pressure on the surface micro-topography of sputtered Cu/Si films. Simulation results indicated that, as the sputtering pressure increased from 0.15 to 2 Pa, the peak energy of the incident energy distribution gradually decreased from 2 to 0.2 eV, which might be mainly due to the gradual decrease in the proportion of deposited Cu atoms whose energy ranged from 2 to 30 eV; the peak angle of the incident polar angle distribution increased from 25° to 35°, which might be attributed to the gradual thermalization of deposited Cu atoms; the growth mode of Cu film transformed from the two-dimensional layered mode to the Volmer-Weber mode. The transformation mechanism of growth mode was analyzed in detail. A comprehensive analysis of the simulation results indicated that incident energy ranging from 2 to 30 eV and incident angle between 10° and 35° might be conducive to the two-dimensional layered growth of sputtered Cu films. This work proposes an application-oriented modeling approach for magnetron sputtering epitaxy.

Optimization of Processing Parameters and Adhesive Properties of Aluminum Oxide Thin-Film Transition Layer for Aluminum Substrate Thin-Film Sensor.

A thin-film strain micro-sensor is a cutting force sensor that can be integrated with tools. Its elastic substrate is an important intermediate to transfer the strain generated by the tools during cutting to the resistance-grid-sensitive layer. In this paper, 1060 aluminum is selected as the elastic substrate material and aluminum oxide thin film is selected as the transition layer between the aluminum substrate and the silicon nitride insulating layer. The Stoney correction formula applicable to the residual stress of the aluminum oxide film is derived, and the residual stress of the aluminum oxide film on the aluminum substrate is obtained. The influence of Sputtering pressure, argon flow and negative substrate bias process parameters on the surface quality and sputtering power of the aluminum oxide thin film is discussed. The relationship model between process parameters, surface roughness, and sputtering rate of thin films is established. The sputtering process parameters for preparing an aluminum oxide thin film are optimized. The micro-surface quality of the aluminum oxide thin film obtained before and after the optimization of the process parameters and the surface quality of Si3N4 thin film sputtered on alumina thin film before and after the optimization are compared. It is verified that the optimized process parameters of aluminum oxide film as a transition layer can improve the adhesion between the insulating-layer silicon nitride film and the aluminum substrate.

Sputtering pressure influenced structural, electrical and optical properties of RF magnetron sputtered MoO3 films

Abstract MoO3 films were deposited by RF magnetron sputtering technique on glass and silicon substrates held at 473 K by sputtering of metallic molybdenum target at an oxygen partial pressure of 4 × 10−2 Pa and at different sputtering pressures in the range of 2 Pa to 6 Pa. The influence of sputtering pressure on the structure and surface morphology, electrical and optical properties of the MoO3 thin films was studied. X-ray diffraction studies suggest that the films deposited at a sputtering pressure of 2 Pa were polycrystalline in nature with mixed phase of α- and β-phase MoO3, while those formed at sputtering pressure of 4 Pa and above were of α-phase MoO3. Scanning electron micrographs showed a decrement in the size of the particles and their shapes changed from needle like structure to dense films with the increase of sputtering pressure. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic studies confirmed the presence of characteristic vibration modes of Mo=O, Mo–O and Mo–O–Mo related to MoO3. Electrical resistivity of the MoO3 films decreased from 6.0 × 104 Ω cm to 2 × 104 Ω cm with an increase of sputtering pressure from 2 Pa to 6 Pa, respectively. Optical band gap of the films decreased from 3.12 eV to 2.86 eV with the increase of sputtering pressure from 2 Pa to 6 Pa, respectively.

Defect photoluminescence and structure properties of undoping (InxGa1-x)2O3 films and their dependence on sputtering pressure

The (InxGa1-x)2O3 thin films were deposited on sapphire substrates by radio frequency magnetron sputtering with increasing sputtering pressure from 0.6 Pa to 1.6 Pa. X-ray diffraction analysis indicated In composition of (InxGa1-x)2O3 thin films maintained constant with the increase of sputtering pressure and In content and bandgaps of (InxGa1-x)2O3 thin films were estimated to be 6% and 4.78 eV by Vegard’s law, respectively. The influence of sputtering pressure on structural and optical properties was discussed in detail. Especially, the origin of different emission of (InxGa1-x)2O3 thin films was investigated. The role of VGa defects on the green emission centered at about 550 nm had been clarified. The energy band diagram of (InxGa1-x)2O3 thin film was also proposed with intrinsic defect levels.

Effect of Gas Conditions on Field-Induced Phase-Induced Denaturation by Magnetrons Sputtering

Vanadium dioxide was manufactured as thin films on the Sapphire substrate with magnetron sputtering methods in this work. It is shown that the threshold voltage of Vanadium dioxide’s Metal-Insulator Transiton (MIT) can be adjusted within a certain range through optimizing deposition processes in order to meet the demands of practical applications. Meanwhile, the influence of sputtering pressure on film growth was analyzed, and the regularity between experimental processes and the growth trend of grains was summarized as well as crystal surface structure. Furthermore, the E-MIT characteristics of Vanadium dioxide thin films were also measured to evaluate their switching properties in a constant temperature test system. And the effects of oxygen-argon ratio used in sputtering were estimated on to the critical field of MIT and the variation of films’ conductivity.

Influence of sputtering pressure on the nanostructure and the X-ray reflectivity of iridium coatings

Reflective mirror coatings made of iridium are used in X-ray telescopes of the Chandra X-ray Observatory (CXO) launched in 1999 by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to investigate astronomical sources at photon energies below 10keV. These coatings were produced in a DC magnetron sputtering process and have so far proven their suitability for space-based applications. We are considering in the present paper the processing of thin iridium films for lightweight telescopes using the radio frequency magnetron sputtering technique with an oblique angle deposition. The coating development presented here is focused on the influence of total sputtering pressure on film properties as well as on its impact on the mirror's performance. Characterisation methods such as X-ray diffractometry, X-ray reflectometry, atomic force microscopy and transmission electron microscopy have been used. Correlations between morphology, density, surface micro-roughness, crystal structure of the iridium layer and the expected reflectivity of the X-ray mirror are described and discussed.

Effect of Sputtering Pressure on Surface Roughness, Oxygen Vacancy and Electrical Properties of a-IGZO Thin Films

Thin films of amorphous indium gallium zinc oxide amorphous indium-gallium-zinc-oxide (a-IGZO) were fabricated by DC magnetron sputtering. The influence of sputtering pressure on the microstructures and the electronic properties were investigated. AFM characterization on surface morphology demonstrates that the surface roughness increases with higher sputtering pressure. The oxygen vacancies of the a-IGZO films change considerably and are reduced significantly with increasing sputtering pressure, as disclosed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Both the increased surface roughness and reduced oxygen vacancy are detrimental to the performance of a-IGZO TFTs. From this point of view, the sputtering should be done at a proper pressure of 0.06 Pa in order to ensure the enhanced performance. The electron saturation mobility ( μ sat ) and the threshold voltage ( V TH ) of the a-IGZO TFTs are 3.32 cm 2 /(V·s) and 24.6 V at such a sputtering condition, respectively.

Composition and optoelectrical properties of sputtering MoSex films

Influence of sputtering pressure on composition, optical and electrical properties of amorphous MoSex films has been systematically investigated. The highest Se concentration and nearly stoichiometric ratio Se/Mo in MoSex films were observed at a sputtering pressure of 0.3 Pa. When the sputtering pressure is increased, the binding energies of Mo 3d and Se 3d peaks of the MoSex films increase, the blue shift of optical transmission edge is observed and the optical band gap decreases from 0.92 to 0.78 eV. Additionally, Hall mobility decreases first and then increases slightly, the resistivity of the films decreases, whereas the carrier concentration of the films increases with an increase in sputtering pressure. The MoSex films deposited at 0.3 Pa have larger Hall mobility (6.45 cm2 V− 1 s− 1) and higher optical band gap (0.92 eV) because of lower Se vacancy defect concentration.

预制层溅射气压对CIGS薄膜结构及器件的影响

预制层溅射气压对CIGS薄膜结构及器件的影响

The effects of the growth pressure and annealing conditions on perpendicular magnetic anisotropy of sputtered NdFeCo films on Si(1 1 1)

Series of NdFeCo thin films with strong perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) have been sputter-deposited onto Si substrate at elevated temperature of TS=310°C. The influence of sputtering pressure and annealing conditions on the micro/magnetic structure and PMA of the films have been investigated by XRD, FE-SEM, VSM, and MFM. With increasing growth pressure from PAr=0.1 to 1.5Pa, the compositional ratios of Fe/Nd and Co/Nd decrease monotonically, while the PMA shows a broad peak with maximum perpendicular anisotropy energy of Ku=148kJ/m3 at PAr=0.9Pa. The observed stripe domains exhibit a fascinating variety of configurations ranging from ordered parallel stripe to disordered labyrinthine patterns that depend on sputtering pressure induced residual stress or defects present in the films and magnetic history. The residual stress in the as-deposited films is evidenced by the subsequent rapid thermal annealing (RTA) experiments which show an obvious XRD peak shifting at annealing temperature of TA⩽400°C. It is interesting to find that there were Nd2Fe14Si3 and Nd6Fe13Si intermetallic compounds observed in the films processed by RTA at TA⩾500°C, while these silicides were not formed in the films annealed by conventional thermal annealing process. In contrast to the film on Si substrate, the NdFeCo film on glass substrate deposited at TS=310°C and PAr=0.3Pa showed a much weaker PMA with Ku=38kJ/m3. On the basis of the experimental results, it is suggested that the residual stress induced magnetoelastic anisotropy is the main origin of the PMA observed in high-temperature deposited NdFeCo film on Si substrate.

Influence of sputtering gas pressure on properties of transparent conducting Si-doped zinc oxide films

Abstract Si-doped zinc oxide (SZO, Si 3%) thin films were deposited on glass substrates by means of direct current magnetron sputtering under different pressures. The influence of sputtering pressure on structure, morphology, optical and electrical properties of SZO thin films was investigated. The results reveal that the sputtering pressures have a significant impact on the growth rate, crystal quality and electrical properties of the films, but have little impact on the optical properties of the films. SZO thin film samples grown on glasses are polycrystalline with a hexagonal wurtzite structure and have a preferred orientation along the c-axis perpendicular to the substrate. When the sputtering pressure increases from 2 to 8 Pa, the film surface becomes compact and smooth, the degree of crystallization of the films increases, and the resistivity of films decreases. However, when the sputtering pressure continues to increase from 8 to 10 Pa, the degree of crystallization of the films decreases, the grain size decreases, and the resistivity of the films increases. SZO(3%) thin film deposited at a sputtering pressure of 8 Pa shows the largest carrier concentration, the largest mobility, the lowest resistivity of 3.0 × 10−4 Ω cm and a high overall transmission of 93.3% in the visible range.

Structure and composition of Ba0.5Sr0.5TiO3 films deposited on (001) MgO substrates and the influence of sputtering pressure

The structure and composition of Ba0.5Sr0.5TiO3 thin films, sputter deposited on (001) MgO substrates, have been characterized by transmission electron microscopy. Deviations in film stoichiometry are seen to strongly correlate with the structural and dielectric properties of these films, with the films deposited at the lower sputtering pressures either Ti-deficient or capped with a titanium oxide layer similar to the rutile TiO2 phase. Preferential sputtering of cations is found to be an important factor governing film stoichiometry. The Ti-deficient films deposited at a lower sputtering pressure contain Ruddlesden–Popper faults that increase the average lattice constant of the film and result in compressive strain and low dielectric tunability.

Influence of sputtering pressure on the structural, optical and hydrophobic properties of sputtered deposited HfO2 coatings

The aim of this work is to develop hydrophobic coatings for outdoor insulators using sputtering technique. Hafnium oxide is characterized by high dielectric constant, large band gap (5.6eV), high refractive index (2.1) and good mechanical, thermal and chemical properties. Hence HfO2 is suitable as a protective coating for outdoor insulators used in the transmission line and transformers. Hafnium oxide coatings were deposited on glass substrates by DC magnetron sputtering technique at a sputtering pressure of 5mTorr, 10mTorr, 15mTorr, 20mTorr and 25mTorr. The deposited films were characterized by techniques like X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), water contact angle goniometry and UV–vis-NIR spectrophotometer. The average crystallite size calculated from XRD peaks shows that it increases with increase in sputtering pressure up to 15mTorr and then it starts decreasing. The roughness calculated from AFM images shows the similar trend. The deposited films were found to be hydrophobic and transparent. The hydrophobicity of the films was correlated with the roughness calculated from AFM. The effect of sputtering pressure was also investigated on optical band gap and refractive index calculated from transmission and absorption data. The electrical resistivity was found to be high, thus ensuring insulating property of the deposited films.

Microstructural and optoelectronic properties of rf magnetron sputtered ZnO:(Ga,Ti) semiconductor thin films

Applying radio-frequency (rf) magnetron sputtering technique, Ga–Ti co-doped ZnO [ZnO:(Ga,Ti)] transparent conductive oxide films were deposited onto glass substrates. The films were characterized by X-ray diffraction, four-point probe and UV–visible spectrophotometer. The influence of sputtering pressure on microstructure and optoelectronic properties of the films was investigated. The results show that all the films are polycrystalline with a hexagonal wurtzite structure and grow preferentially in the (002) direction. The ZnO:(Ga,Ti) films deposited at sputtering pressure of 0.4 Pa exhibit the maximum grain size of 86.6 nm, the highest transmittance of 85.9 %, the lowest resistivity of 1.67 × 10−3 Ω cm, and the highest figure of merit of 1.38 × 10−2 Ω−1. The optical constants such as refractive index, extinction coefficient, dielectric constant and dissipation factor were determined using the method of whole optical spectrum fitting. Meanwhile, the dispersion behaviour of the films was studied by the single electronic oscillator model. The oscillator parameters and optical energy gaps were achieved. The results demonstrate that the microstructure and optoelectronic properties of the films are closely related to the sputtering pressure.

Influence of sputtering pressure on optical constants of a-GaAs1−xNx thin films

Amorphous GaAs1−xNx (a-GaAs1−xNx) thin films have been deposited at room temperature by a reactive magnetron sputtering technique on glass substrates with different sputtering pressures. The thickness, nitrogen content, carrier concentration and transmittance of the as-deposited films were determined experimentally. The influence of sputtering pressure on the optical band gap, refractive index and dispersion parameters (Eo, Ed) has been investigated. An analysis of the absorption coefficient revealed a direct optical transition characterizing the as-deposited films. The refractive index dispersions of the as-deposited a-GaAs1−xNx films fitted well to the Cauchy dispersion relation and the Wemple model.

Co-Doped ZnO Transparent Conductive Films for LCD and UV Detectors

Zr,Ga co-doped ZnO transparent conductive films were deposited on glass substrates by DC magnetron sputtering at room temperature.The influence of sputtering pressure on the structural,electrical,and optical properties of Zr,Ga co-doped ZnO films was investigated by X-ray diffraction,scanning electron microscopy (SEM),digital four-point probe,and optical transmission spectroscopy.The lowest resistivity of the Zr,Ga co-doped ZnO film is 3.01×10-4Ω﹒cm.All the films present a high transmittance of above 91% in the visible range.These results make the possibility for liquid crystal display (LCD) and UV photoconductive detectors.

Co-Doped ZnO Transparent Conductive Films for LCD and UV Detectors

Zr,Ga co-doped ZnO transparent conductive films were deposited on glass substrates by DC magnetron sputtering at room temperature.The influence of sputtering pressure on the structural,electrical,and optical properties of Zr,Ga co-doped ZnO films was investigated by X-ray diffraction,scanning electron microscopy (SEM),digital four-point probe,and optical transmission spectroscopy.The lowest resistivity of the Zr,Ga co-doped ZnO film is 3.01×10-4Ω﹒cm.All the films present a high transmittance of above 91% in the visible range.These results make the possibility for liquid crystal display (LCD) and UV photoconductive detectors.

Influence of sputtering pressure on the structure and ionic conductivity of thin film amorphous electrolyte

Ionic conducting thin film amorphous electrolytes are promising candidates for microelectronics applications. This study presents an investigation into the structure and composition of lithium phosphorus oxynitride (LiPON) thin film electrolyte prepared using radio frequency (RF) sputtering on Li3PO4 target. The ionic conductivity of LiPON thin films has been dramatically improved by decreasing N2 pressure. X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS) were used to determine the structure and composition of LiPON thin films. It was found that increasing the N2 pressure during the deposition process resulted in a greatly decreased formation of triply coordinated –N<(Nt) as compared to doubly coordinated –N=(Nd) in LiPON thin films. These results indicate that the Nt structural unit plays an important role in the improvement of ionic conductivity as compared to the Nd structural unit. It also shows that PO2N2 tetrahedra with two Nt structural units exist in LiPON thin films at low N2 pressures. Consequently, the improved ionic conductivity of the LiPON thin film deposited at low pressure results from the existence of PO2N2 tetrahedra with two Nt structural units in LiPON thin film. PO2N2 tetrahedra with two Nt structural units provides higher cross-linking density of the glass network and lower electrostatic energy than with two Nd structural units.

Influence of sputtering pressure on microstructure and mechanical properties of TiN/SiNx multilayer coatings

TiN/SiNx multilayer coatings were deposited at different deposition pressure by reactive magnetron sputtering. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the coatings were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and nanoindentation. The results showed that the layer structure became rough and the preferred orientation of TiN transferred from (200) to (111) plane with the increase of deposition pressure. Surface roughness of the coatings increased but the hardness and elastic modulus decreased with increasing deposition pressure. The variation of mechanical properties are attributed to the changes in layer structures and the densities of the coatings.