rf-sputtered aluminum nitride films on sapphire

Abstract

Single-crystal films of aluminum nitride were fabricated on (0001)- and (011̄2)-oriented sapphire substrates by reactive rf sputtering an aluminum target in ammonia gas. Films sputtered on either sapphire orientation were clear, smooth, and piezoelectric. Effective surface acoustic wave piezoelectric coupling constants as large as k2 = 0.2% were found for films sputtered on (0001)-oriented sapphire.

Effects of mean free path on the preferentially orientated growth of AlN thin films

“…To develop better devices, many researchers have invested great efforts in growing highly oriented AlN thin films by different techniques, including molecule beam epitaxy (MBE) [4], chemical vapor deposition (CVD) [5], metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) [6] and radio frequency (RF) sputtering [7]. Among all the techniques, RF reactive sputtering has attracted the maximum attention because it is applicable to prepare AlN films with good surface morphology and preferred crystal orientations at low temperature.…”

Preferred orientation of AlN plates prepared by chemical vapour deposition of AlCl3 + NH3 system

“…Several methods of preparing A1N films have been reported, including reactive sputtering [5], reactive molecular epitaxy [-6] and chemical vapour deposition (CVD) [8][9][10][11][12][13][14]. However, CVD technique is known to be the most suitable in controlling the preferred orientation [7].…”

Temperature Compensation with AlN Film on Y-128° LiNbO3

“…Reactive sputtering 2, 3) at a low temperature allows the use of a wide variety of possible substrate materials. Researchers have deposited AlN films on various substrates, such as silicon, glass, sapphire, and fused quartz, [4][5][6][7][8][9] to study the process and applications on SAW devices. Recently, Wu and coworkers also studied how to deposit an AlN film on Rotated Y-cut quartz (ST-quartz) and Y-128 • LiNbO 3 by sputtering.…”