Electron-Beam Deposition of Aluminum Nitride and Oxide Ceramic Coatings for Microelectronic Devices

This work presents the results of the coating deposition by electron-beam evaporation of aluminum nitride and aluminum oxide targets in nitrogen and oxygen atmospheres in the forevacuum range (5–30 Pa). The method we employed is a combination of the electron-beam and plasma methods, since in the mentioned pressure range, the electron beam creates plasma that essentially changes the interaction picture of both the electron beam with the ceramic target and the flux of evaporated material with a substrate. We show a possibility of depositing such coatings on monolithic microwave integrated circuits passivated by Si3N4 dielectric.