Magnetron Sputtering In Atmosphere Research Articles

Electrical and optical properties of the WOx thin films, prepared by magnetron sputtering, and analysis of their highest value

In this article, optical and electrical properties of tungsten oxide thin films, prepared by magnetron sputtering in the atmosphere of various oxygen content, were analysed. Tungsten oxide is a material, which is widely used in modern applications such as smart windows, anti-steam mirrors, and gas sensors. Five sets of tungsten oxide thin films were deposited by magnetron sputtering in the mixed argon-oxygen atmosphere composed of various content of reactive gas, i.e., from 5% to 15%. In each case, other deposition process parameters were the same. The thickness of the thin films was ca. 160 nm and it was measured with the optical profilometer. It was noticed that along with the increase in the proportion of reactive gas in the process, thin film samples changed their colour from metallic, through navy blue to blue and simultaneously they became increasingly transparent. Measurements of electrical properties, made using the four-point probe and optical properties, performed with the aid of a spectrophotometer showed that increasing the proportion of oxygen in the process increased the average transmission in the visible wavelength range and the resistivity of the prepared WOx thin films. In the article, the Figure of Merit (FoM) coefficients are also presented, which determine the quality of the thin film samples. It was shown that the highest value of the FoM was observed for WOx thin film characterised by a relatively high average transmission in the visible wavelength range and low value of resistivity. The performed measurements showed that the gas atmosphere during magnetron sputtering process leads to the tailoring of the optical and electrical properties of tungsten oxide thin films, which in turn makes it possible to design and apply such thin film coatings in transparent electronics. Keywords: magnetron sputtering, thin films, tungsten oxide, optical and electrical properties

Properties of Ag Thin Films Deposited in Oxygen Atmosphere Using in-line Magnetron Sputter System

A study was made to examine the electrical, compositional, structural and morphological properties of Ag thin films deposited by DC magnetron sputtering in atmosphere with deposition temperature from room temperature to 15 using in-line sputter system. The Ag films deposited at temperature above in oxygen atmosphere gave a similar specific resistivity to and even lower oxygen content than those deposited using pure Ar sputter gas The Ag films deposited with pure Ar gas was mainly composed of crystallites with [111] preferred orientation, while, for those deposited in oxygen atmosphere, more than 50% of the volume was composed of crystallites with [100] orientation. The difference in the micro structure did not cause any difference in the specific resistivity of Ag films. The results showed that the transparent conducting oxide films and the Ag films could be processed sequentially in the same deposition chamber with careful control of deposition temperature, which might result in a cost reduction for constructing the large scale in-line deposition system.

High-Energy Particles in AlN Film Preparation by Reactive Sputtering Technique

AlN films were prepared by reactive DC planar magnetron sputtering in atmosphere of N2 gas or mixed gas of N2 and H2. High-energy neutral particles bombarding the AlN film were observed by using a time-of-flight particle analyzer. It is found that the high-energy particles such as NO and OH (or O) due to residual H2O in the discharge chamber or oxides at the Al target surface induce the coloring of film, the decrease of optical transmittance at shorter wavelength, the decrease of the degree of c-axis orientation of the film, etc. For the sputtering in mixed gas of N2 and H2, a number of energetic H atoms are bombarding the AlN film. The influence of these energetic H atoms on the film growth is also studied.