抄録
Aluminium nitride films were deposited in a vacuum arc chamber with an aluminium cathode in nitrogen atmosphere. Process parameter was RF power output (0-400W), which was applied to the substrate. Chemical composition, surface appearance and crystallographic orientation of the films were measured.
The main results are as follows: (1) As the RF power output increases, self-bias voltage increases and Al atoms are sputtered from the film surface. (2) The chemical composition ratio of N to Al atoms of the film is 0.7-0.9. (3) In case of RF power output being less than 50W, the crystallographic orientation of AIN film is dominantly (002) which means the c-axis of AIN crystal is vertical to the substrate surface, and the film surface is rough. (4) In case of RF power output being more than 100W, the crystallographic orientation changes from (002) to (100) which means the c-axis of the crystal is parallel to the substrate surface, and the surface of the film becomes peeling off. The dependence of film properties on RF power output is considered to be due to ion's energy and sputtering.
