Effect of Substrate Temperature on Properties of Silicon Nitride Films Deposited by RF Magnetron Sputtering

2011 ◽  
Vol 254 ◽  
pp. 187-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruchi Tiwari ◽  
Sudhir Chandra

In the present work, we report the preparation, characterization and application of silicon nitride thin films deposited by RF magnetron sputtering on oxidized silicon substrates. The properties of the films were investigated with respect to the substrate temperature during film deposition. X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy confirms the presence of silicon and nitrogen in the films. The X-ray diffraction results indicate that the films were amorphous when deposited without external substrate heating. On the other hand, the deposition on heated substrate (300 °C) results in weakly crystalline structure. Spectral reflectance technique was used for thickness and refractive index measurements. With substrate heating, the refractive index was observed to increase. Atomic force microscope images revealed that the films were smooth and had uniform texture. The etching characteristics of the films in buffered hydrofluoric acid at room temperature and 40 wt % potassium hydroxide at 80 °C were also investigated. Significant reduction in etch rates was observed when the films were deposited on heated substrates. Using the sputter deposited silicon nitride films, microstructures such as cantilevers and diaphragms, which are basic building blocks in micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) based sensors, were fabricated using micromachining techniques.

2011 ◽  
Vol 194-196 ◽  
pp. 2340-2346 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hong Yu Liang ◽  
Qing Nan Zhao ◽  
Feng Gao ◽  
Wen Hui Yuan ◽  
Yu Hong Dong

With a mixture gas of N2 and Ar, silicon nitride thin films were deposited on glass substrates by different radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering power without intentional substrate heating. The chemical composition, phase structure, surface morphology, optical properties, refractive index, hydrophobic properties of the films were characterized by X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy(EDS), X-ray diffraction(XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy(FESEM), ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy(UV-Vis), nkd-system spectrophotometer and CA-XP150 contact angle analyzer, respectively. The results showed that silicon nitride thin films were amorphous and rich in Si; the transmittance reduced but refractive index and surface roughness increased; and the hydrophobic properties of SiNx became better with the increase of RF power.


2010 ◽  
Vol 150-151 ◽  
pp. 1391-1395 ◽  
Author(s):  
Feng Gao ◽  
Qing Nan Zhao ◽  
Xiu Jian Zhao ◽  
Yu Hong Dong

Silicon Nitride thin films were deposited on glass substrates by r.f. magnetron sputtering with a mixture gas of N2 and Ar. The properties of the thin films vs substrate temperature have been investigated. The phase structure, surface morphology, chemical composition, thickness and optical properties of the films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis) and nkd-system spectrophotometer. The results show that the films appear amorphous and crystalline structure at the substrate temperature of 20 and 300 , respectively, the atomic ratio of Si to N of the films is nearly 1:1, the transmittance in the ultraviolet-visible region is above 75%; with increasing substrate temperature the refractive index and the optical band gap increase, and the deposition rates of the films decreases.


2015 ◽  
Vol 833 ◽  
pp. 127-133
Author(s):  
Jie Yu ◽  
Jie Xing ◽  
Xiu Hua Chen ◽  
Wen Hui Ma ◽  
Rui Li ◽  
...  

La0.9Sr0.1Ga0.8Mg0.2O3-δ (LSGM) electrolyte thin films were fabricated on La0.7Sr0.3Cr0.5Mn0.5O2.75 (LSCM) porous anode substrates by Radio Frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering method. The compatibility between LSGM and LSCM was examined. Microstructures of LSGM thin films fabricated were observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The effect of substrate temperature on LSGM thin films was clarified by X-ray Diffraction (XRD). Deposition rate increases firstly at the range of 50°C~150°C, and then decreases at the range of 150°C ~300°C. After annealing, perovskite structure with the same growth orientation forms at different substrate temperature. Crystallite size decreases at first, to the minimum point at 150°C, then increases as substrate temperature rises.


1990 ◽  
Vol 201 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. P. Donovan ◽  
C. A. Carosella ◽  
K. S. Grabowski ◽  
W. D. Coleman

AbstractSilicon nitride films (Si1−x,.Nx) have been deposited on silicon by simultaneous evaporation of silicon and bombardment of nitrogen ions. Films approximately 1 μm thick were deposited in an ambient nitrogen pressure of 50 μTorr. The substrate temperature (TSUB) ranged from nominally room temperature to 950° C for films with X between 0 and 0.6. Nitrogen atom fraction, X, was measured with Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS). Refractive index was measured with near-IR reflection spectroscopy. Differences in film structure were measured by FT1R on the Si-N bond bending absorption mode, and by x-ray diffraction (XRD). X was found to depend upon the incident flux ratio of energetic nitrogen atoms to vapor silicon, and upon TSUB. Refractive index depends upon X and TSUB. XRD found evidence of the presence of amorphous structure, poly-crystalline silicon and (101) oriented β-Si3N4 depending on X and TSUB. The Si-N absorption signal increases with X and shows some structure at high TSUB.


2013 ◽  
Vol 320 ◽  
pp. 35-39
Author(s):  
Cheng Long Kang ◽  
Jin Xiang Deng ◽  
Min Cui ◽  
Chao Man ◽  
Le Kong ◽  
...  

The Al2O3-doped ZnO(AZO) films were deposited on the glasses by means of RF magnetron sputtering technology. The films were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Profile-system respectively. The effect of substrate temperature on the structure of the AZO films is investigated.As a result, the properties of the AZO thin films are remarkably influenced by the substrate temperature , especially in the range of 200°C to 500 °C. The film prepared at the substrate temperature of 400°C possesses the best crystalline.


1997 ◽  
Vol 472 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.K. Kang ◽  
M.S. Park ◽  
D.B. Kim ◽  
K.S. No ◽  
S.H. Cho

ABSTRACTPLZT(X/70/100) thin films on MgO(100), Pt/Ti/MgO(100), and Pt/Ti/Si(100) have been prepared by RF-magnetron sputtering process from sintered target with compositions of PLZT(X/70/100), where X=5, 10, and 15, respectively. The effects of substrate temperature, substrate and gas pressure on deposited thin films were studied. Crystalline and surface characterization was analyzed using XRD, SEM, AES, and AFM. X-ray rocking curves were measured to examine the film orientation. It was observed that the gas pressure was the dominant influence on having (001) preferred orientation. As a result, the degree of c-axis orientation increased as gas pressure decreased.


2015 ◽  
Vol 814 ◽  
pp. 601-606 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fei Huan ◽  
Jin Feng Leng ◽  
Zhi Chao Meng ◽  
Bin Sun ◽  
Wen Shuang He

ZnO doped Al2O3and ZrO2(ZAZO) thin films were deposited by the radio frequency magnetron sputtering on substrate temperature with 100°C, 150°C, 200°C, 250°C and 300°C. The surface morphology and electrical properties of the films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and four-probe tester. The results showed that the substrate temperature obviously influenced the grain size of ZAZO films. The ZnO thin film had the largest crystallization orientation for the (002) peak and the smallest FWHM value at substrate temperature of 250°C. As the temperature increasing, the resistance of films gradually decreased till reaching a minimum at 250°C and then rised. Due to the increasing of Al and Zr concentrations into ZnO lattice, the Al ions created an abundance number of free electrons in the ZnO lattice, and in turn, the electrical conductivity increased. In addition, the improvement of film in the crystalline state results in the film resistivity decreases.


2012 ◽  
Vol 502 ◽  
pp. 77-81
Author(s):  
Z.Y. Zhong ◽  
J.H. Gu ◽  
X. He ◽  
C.Y. Yang ◽  
J. Hou

Indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films were deposited by RF magnetron sputtering on glass substrates employing a sintered ceramic target. The influence of substrate temperature on the structural, compositional, optical and electrical properties of the thin films were investigated by X-ray diffractometer (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), spectrophotometer and four-point probes. All the ITO thin films show a polycrystalline indium oxide structure and have a preferred orientation along the (222) direction. The substrate temperature significantly affects the crystal structure and optoelectrical properties of the thin films. With the increment of substrate temperature, the electrical resistivity of the deposited films decreases, the crystallite dimension, optical bandgap and average transmittance in the visible region increase. The ITO thin film deposited at substrate temperature of 200 °C possesses the best synthetic optoelectrical properties, with the highest transmittance, the lowest resistivity and the highest figure of merit.


2001 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 308-313 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wentao Xu ◽  
Boquan Li ◽  
Toshiyuki Fujimoto ◽  
Isao Kojima

The structure and composition of SiNx/Si/SiNx films were investigated by means of x-ray reflectivity, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy. The three-layer films were prepared by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering under the condition of constant nitrogen flow and the argon flow. It was found that the deposition rate and surface structure of the silicon nitride films were mainly determined by the nitrogen flow rather than the argon flow. But the composition of the silicon nitride films was controlled by the gas flow ratio (FAr/FN2) used during sputtering.


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