A parametric study of AlN thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition

Abstract High quality AlN thin films were grown at 200–450°C on sapphire substrates by laser ablation of Al targets in nitrogen reactive atmosphere. The nitrogen pressure was varied between 10 −3 and 10 −1 mbar. The reactive gas pressure during irradiation and the temperature of the substrate were found to essentially influence the quality of the layers. X-ray diffraction analysis evidenced the formation of highly orientated layers for a very restrictive set of parameters. Other analysis techniques, like X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, secondary ion mass spectroscopy, optical transmission spectroscopy have been used to evidence the good stoichiometry and purity of the films. The characteristics of these films were compared with those of AlN thin films deposited in similar experimental conditions, on Si (100) and Si (111) substrates.

[1]  Kenneth Meade Lakin,et al.  Low‐temperature coefficient bulk acoustic wave composite resonators , 1982 .

[2]  K. Tsubouchi,et al.  Zero-Temperature-Coefficient SAW Devices on AlN Epitaxial Films , 1985, IEEE Transactions on Sonics and Ultrasonics.

[3]  C. B. Carter,et al.  Oriented aluminum nitride thin films deposited by pulsed‐laser ablation , 1991 .

[4]  T. Tansley,et al.  LASER-INDUCED CHEMICAL VAPOR DEPOSITION OF ALN FILMS , 1990 .

[5]  Maria Dinescu,et al.  ZnO thin film deposition by laser ablation of Zn target in oxygen reactive atmosphere , 1996 .

[6]  J. M. Frye,et al.  Room‐temperature growth of AlN thin films by laser ablation , 1992 .

[7]  Macro and Micro Structural Factors in Thin Film Growth of III-V Compounds , 1995 .

[8]  W. Meng,et al.  Growth of aluminum nitride thin films on Si(111) and Si(001): Structural characteristics and development of intrinsic stresses , 1994 .

[9]  B. Dugnoille,et al.  Optical properties of sputter-deposited aluminium nitride films on silicon , 1994 .

[10]  Manijeh Razeghi,et al.  High quality aluminum nitride epitaxial layers grown on sapphire substrates , 1994 .

[11]  K. Lakin,et al.  Growth morphology and surface‐acoustic‐wave measurements of AIN films on sapphire , 1975 .

[12]  H. Hayakawa,et al.  Reactive molecular beam epitaxy of aluminium nitride , 1979 .

[13]  A. J. Shuskus,et al.  rf‐sputtered aluminum nitride films on sapphire , 1974 .

[14]  Maria Dinescu,et al.  AlN thin films deposition by laser ablation of Al target in nitrogen reactive atmosphere , 1997 .

[15]  G. Radhakrishnan.  Properties of AlN films grown at 350 K by gas‐phase excimer laser photolysis , 1995 .

[16]  Maria Dinescu,et al.  Characterization of ZnO thin films deposited by laser ablation in reactive atmosphere , 1996 .

[17]  K. Shibata,et al.  Preparation of aluminum nitride thin films by reactive sputtering and their applications to GHz‐band surface acoustic wave devices , 1994 .