2006 Volume 114 Issue 1331 Pages 657-659
Highly c-axis-oriented aluminum nitride (AlN) thin films were prepared on Inconel substrates using the RF magnetron sputtering technique. The AlN film characteristics were evaluated under pressures of 10.0 to 300.0 MPa and frequencies of 0.1 to 30 Hz at room temperature. The deviation from the linearity of charges with pressures for the AlN films were within 0.58% of a full scale at 300.0 MPa, which indicated a good linearity between 10.0 and 300.0 MPa. Furthermore the time dependence of charge for the AlN films hardly changed under pressure of ±0.8 MPa at 450°C in the time range from 0 to 54 h, which indicated a good durability. It is confirmed that the AlN thin films showed good potential as a pressure sensor under high temperatures and high pressures.