Mechanical Properties of AlN Thin Films Prepared by Ion Beam Assisted Deposition

AbstractAluminum nitride (AlN) thin films were prepared by ion-beam assisted deposition method, and the influence of the nitrogen ion beam energy on their microstructure and mechanical properties was studied by changing the ion beam energy from 0.1 to 1.5 keV. Films prepared with a low-energy ion beam show a columnar structure, while films prepared with a high-energy ion beam show a granular structure. The film hardness is found to decrease with increasing nitrogen ion beam energy. It is also found that the film hardness does not change drastically after annealing in nitrogen atmosphere at 500 °C, yielding the residual stress relaxation. It is proposed that the film hardness is dependent on the film microstructure, which can be controlled with the nitrogen ion beam energy, rather than the residual stress in the films.

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Effect of Microstructure on Microhardness of AlN Thin Films

MRS Proceedings ◽

10.1557/proc-695-l5.3.1 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 695 ◽

Author(s):

Shuichi Miyabe ◽

Masami Aono ◽

Nobuaki Kitazawa ◽

Yoshihisa Watanabe

Keyword(s):

Thin Films ◽

Film Thickness ◽

Beam Energy ◽

Ion Beam ◽

Columnar Structure ◽

Granular Structure ◽

Nano Indentation ◽

Ion Beam Assisted Deposition ◽

Film Microstructure ◽

Nitrogen Ion

ABSTRACTAluminum nitride (AlN) thin films with columnar and granular structures were prepared by ion-beam assisted deposition method by changing nitrogen ion beam energy, and the effects of the film microstructure and film thickness on their microhardness were studied by using a nano-indentation system with the maximum force of 3 mN. For the columnar structure film of 600 nm in thickness, the microhardness is found to be approximately 24 GPa when the normalized penetration depth to the film thickness is about 0.1. For the granular structure film of 700 nm in thickness, the microhardness is found to be approximately 14 GPa. These results reveal that the microhardness of the AlN films strongly depends on the film microstructure, which can be controlled by regulating the nitrogen ion beam energy.

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Mechanical properties of silicon oxynitride thin films prepared by low energy ion beam assisted deposition

Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms ◽

10.1016/s0168-583x(98)00811-8 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 148 (1-4) ◽

pp. 599-603 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Yukari Shima ◽

Hiroki Hasuyama ◽

Toshiharu Kondoh ◽

Yasuo Imaoka ◽

Takanori Watari ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Thin Films ◽

Mechanical Properties ◽

Ion Beam ◽

Silicon Oxynitride ◽

Low Energy ◽

Ion Beam Assisted Deposition

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Irradiation Effect of Nitrogen Ion Beam on Carbon Nitride Thin Films

MRS Proceedings ◽

10.1557/proc-792-r3.2 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 792 ◽

Author(s):

Shinichiro Aizawa ◽

Yuka Nasu ◽

Masami Aono ◽

Nobuaki Kitazawa ◽

Yoshihisa Watanabe

Keyword(s):

Thin Films ◽

Carbon Nitride ◽

Ion Beam ◽

Chemical Vapor ◽

Columnar Structure ◽

Irradiation Effect ◽

Carbon Filament ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Nitrogen Ions ◽

Nitrogen Ion

ABSTRACTIrradiation effect of low-energy nitrogen ion beam on amorphous carbon nitride (a-CNx) thin films has been investigated. The a-CNx films were prepared on silicon single crystal substrates by hot carbon-filament chemical vapor deposition (HFCVD). After deposition, the CNx films were irradiated by a nitrogen ion beam with energy from 0.1 to 2.0 keV. Irradiation effect on the film microstructure and composition was studied by SEM and XPS, focusing on the effect of nitrogen ion beam energy. Surface and cross sectional observations by SEM reveal that the as-deposited films show a densely distributed columnar structure and the films change to be a sparsely distributed cone-like structure after irradiation. It is also found that 2.0 keV ions skeltonize the films more clearly than 0.1 kev ions. Depth profiles of nitrogen in the films observed by XPS show that nitrogen absorption into films is more prominent after irradiation by 0.1 keV nitrogen ions than 2.0 keV ions.

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The effect of the ion beam energy on the properties of indium tin oxide thin films prepared by ion beam assisted deposition

Thin Solid Films ◽

10.1016/j.tsf.2007.04.159 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 516 (7) ◽

pp. 1365-1369 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

Li-Jian Meng ◽

Jinsong Gao ◽

M.P. dos Santos ◽

Xiaoyi Wang ◽

Tongtong Wang

Keyword(s):

Thin Films ◽

Tin Oxide ◽

Indium Tin Oxide ◽

Beam Energy ◽

Ion Beam ◽

Oxide Thin Films ◽

Ion Beam Assisted Deposition

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Preparation of carbon nitride thin films by ion beam assisted deposition and their mechanical properties

Thin Solid Films ◽

10.1016/s0040-6090(97)00420-3 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 308-309 ◽

pp. 239-244 ◽

Cited By ~ 46

Author(s):

M Kohzaki ◽

A Matsumuro ◽

T Hayashi ◽

M Muramatsu ◽

K Yamaguchi

Keyword(s):

Thin Films ◽

Mechanical Properties ◽

Carbon Nitride ◽

Ion Beam ◽

Ion Beam Assisted Deposition

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Effects of Substrate Materials on Nanoindentation Tests of AlN Thin Films

MRS Proceedings ◽

10.1557/proc-750-y8.23 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 750 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Shuichi Miyabe ◽

Masami Aono ◽

Nobuaki Kitazawa ◽

Yoshihisa Watanabe

Keyword(s):

Thin Films ◽

Film Thickness ◽

Penetration Depth ◽

Ion Beam ◽

Fused Silica ◽

Indentation Hardness ◽

Ion Beam Assisted Deposition ◽

Film Hardness ◽

Aln Film ◽

Different Thickness

ABSTRACTAluminum nitride (AlN) thin films with different thickness were synthesized by ion-beam assisted deposition on various substrates, Corning 7059 glass, fused silica, Si single crystal, and sapphire, which show the hardness ranging from 7 to 37 GPa. Effects of substrate materials on indentation-hardness of AlN films were studied by using a nanoindentation system equipped with a diamond Berkovich indenter. The maximum force applied to the films was kept at 3 mN. For the films on the Corning 7059 glass substrate, when the normalized penetration depth to the film thickness is 0.98, the film hardness is found to be about 7 GPa, which is close to the hardness of the substrate. While the normalized penetration depth is reduced to 0.11, the film hardness becomes to be about 16 GPa. On the other hand, for the films on the sapphire substrate, when the normalized penetration depth is 0.83, the film hardness is observed to be about 25 GPa, while the normalized penetration depth is reduced to 0.10, the film hardness is found to be about 15 GPa. These results reveal that when the normalized penetration depth to the film thickness is about 0.1, the hardness of the AlN film can be evaluated to be about 15 GPa without being affected by substrate materials.

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