Sputtered Aluminum Nitride Films Research Articles

Effect of particle bombardment on the orientation and the residual stress of sputtered AlN films for SAW devices

We present a study of the effect of particle bombardment on the preferred orientation and the residual stress of polycrystalline aluminum nitride (AlN) thin films for surface acoustic wave (SAW) applications. Films were deposited on silicon (100) substrates by radio frequency (RF) sputtering of an aluminum target in an argon and nitrogen gas mixture. The main deposition parameters were changed as follows: the total pressure from 4 mTorr to 11 mTorr, the N2 content in the gas mixture from 20% to 80%, and the substrate self-bias voltage from -10 V to -30 V. If a sufficiently high negative substrate self-bias voltage is induced, (00.2)-oriented films are obtained over the full ranges of pressure and N2 content. Such films have values of residual stress ranging from -3 GPa to +1 GPa, depending on the deposition conditions. Our results suggest that the energy of the Ar ions colliding with the substrate controls the preferred orientation of the films, whereas the directionality of the ions (for the same energy) is the main factor determining the residual stress. To demonstrate the suitability of our material for the intended application, SAW filters with good electroacoustic response have been fabricated using AlN thin films with optimized (00.2) orientation and controlled residual stress.

Effect of Particle Bombardment on the Orientation and the Residual Stress of Sputtered AlN Films for SAW Devices

We present a study of the effect of particle bombardment on the preferred orientation and the residual stress of polycrystalline aluminum nitride (AlN) thin films for surface acoustic wave (SAW) applications. Films were deposited on silicon (100) substrates by radio frequency (RF) sputtering of an aluminum target in an argon and nitrogen gas mixture. The main deposition parameters were changed as follows: the total pressure from 4 mTorr to 11 mTorr, the N/sub 2/ content in the gas mixture from 20% to 80%, and the substrate self-bias voltage from -10 V to -30 V. If a sufficiently high negative substrate self-bias voltage is induced, (00.2)-oriented films are obtained over the full ranges of pressure and N/sub 2/ content. Such films have values of residual stress ranging from -3 GPa to +1 GPa, depending on the deposition conditions. Our results suggest that the energy of the Ar ions colliding with the substrate controls the preferred orientation of the films, whereas the directionality of the ions (for the same energy) is the main factor determining the residual stress. To demonstrate the suitability of our material for the intended application, SAW filters with good electroacoustic response have been fabricated using AlN thin films with optimized (00.2) orientation and controlled residual stress.

Optical and surface analysis of DC-reactive sputtered AlN films

A set of aluminium nitride (AlN), thin films were prepared by DC-reactive magnetron sputtering. The deposition parameters, such as substrate temperature, sputtering gas composition and plasma current were varied. Spectroscopic ellipsometry, XPS, RBS, XRD, SEM, AFM and FTIR techniques were utilized to study the relationship between film properties and preparation conditions. We observed that the optical and surface properties have a strong dependence on the deposition rate. All prepared films present a composition close to AlN stoichiometry, even for nitrogen to argon gas concentrations below 1:2. The near surface of AlN films exposed to atmosphere was primarily composed of Al 2O 3 while the bulk was AlN with some minor contamination of oxygen and carbon. The thickness of the oxide layer was reduced when higher plasma current and lower nitrogen concentration were used. Deposits prepared at 400 °C presented the best refractive index and deposition rate, for both utilized plasma currents.

Columnar structure of reactively sputtered aluminium nitride films

Columnar structure of thin aluminium nitride (AlN) films is examined by x-ray diffractometry (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The films were deposited on SiO2/Si(100) substrate using radiofrequency reactive sputtering method. Strong [0001] preferred orientation is observed by XRD and confirmed by selected area diffraction pattern of TEM. Columnar grains of ∼50–100 nm inclined at an angle of ∼10° to the substrate normal are observed by SEM. As revealed by TEM, each columnar grain is composed of nano-grains of the order of 10 nm and no faceting is observed in the nano-grains and columns. The [0001] preferred orientation results as columnar grains are oriented at various azimuthal angles with their c-axes perpendicular to the substrate surface. A slight tilt of a few tenths of a degree between adjacent nano-grains within a column is also observed. The random azimuthal orientation of columnar grains and small tilt between nano-grains in the films are accommodated by the amorphous phase present in the grain boundaries.

Chemical Stability of Reactively Sputtered AlN with Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposited SiO2 and SiNx

ABSTRACTWe have studied the chemical stability of reactively sputtered aluminum nitride film with plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposited SiO2 and SiNx films. It was found that the PECVD SiO2 film reacted with A1N to form aluminosilicate (3Al2O3·2SiO2) at the SiO2/A1N interface after annealing above 550°C. The presence of Al-0 bonds at the SiO2/AlN interface was verified with x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and x-ray induced Auger electron spectroscopy. The formation of aluminosilicate resulted in significant decrease in the wet etch rate of A1N layer. For SiNx/AlN/Si layered structure, no interfacial reactions were detected at the SiNx/AlN interface after annealing up to 850°C. These results confirm the thermodynamic predictions on the mutual stability of SiNx/AlN and SiO2/AlN.