GROWTH OF SPUTTERED-ALUMINUM OXIDE THIN FILMS ON Si (100) AND Si (111) SUBSTRATES WITH Al₂O₃ BUFFER LAYER

Abstract

Aluminum oxide (Al2O3) thin films with Al2O3 buffer layer were deposited on Si (100) and Si (111) substrates using RF magnetron sputtering of Al2O3 target in Ar atmosphere. The synthesized films were then annealed at the temperature of 400[Formula: see text]C, 600[Formula: see text]C and 800[Formula: see text]C in nitrogen (N2) environment for 6[Formula: see text]h. Structural properties and surface morphology are examined by using X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM) and Atomic Force Microscope (AFM). XRD analysis indicated that different orientation of Al2O3 were formed with different intensities due to increase in the annealing temperature. From FESEM cross-section analysis results, it is observed that the thickness of films were increased as the annealing temperature increased. EDX analysis shows that the concentration of aluminum and oxygen on both the Si substrates increased with the increase in annealing temperature. The surface roughness of the films were found to be decreased first when the annealing temperature is increased to 400[Formula: see text]C, yet the roughness increased when the annealing temperature is further increased to 800[Formula: see text]C.