Abstract
The effects of hydrogen partial pressure and a sputtering gas (argon or helium) on the deposition rate and film properties such as electrical resistivity, crystal structure and hydrogen contents have been investigated in the hydrogen partial pressure range from 8×10-5 Torr (1.1 × 10-2 Pa) to 1 × 10-2 Torr (1.3 Pa) : the total pressure containing hydrogen and either argon or helium was maintained at 5 × 10-3 Torr (6.5 × 10-1 Pa) or at 1 × 10-2 Torr (1.3 Pa), respectively.
As hydrogen partial pressure was increased, the deposition rate of films began to decrease drastically at the specific partial pressures in the both sputtering gases.
X-ray diffraction analyses revealed that the crystal structure of deposited films changed from identified structures to unidentified ones at above 5 × 10-3 Torr (6.5 × 10-1 Pa) and over the all examined hydrogen pressures for argon and helium sputtering gases, respectively.
The hydrogen contents of deposited films, which were determined by means of thermal desorption method, increased with increasing hydrogen partial pressure for both sputtering gases.
On the bases of the experimental data, discussions were made on the mechanism of film formation during the reactive sputtering.
