Effects of RF magnetron sputtering deposition process parameters on the properties of molybdenum thin films

Abstract RF-sputtered molybdenum (Mo) thin films have been deposited by varying operating pressure (0.88 to 2.66 Pa at 100 W) and RF power (50 W to 125 W at 1.33 Pa). The variation in process parameters studied herein primarily alters the kinetic energy of the sputtered particle during the Mo deposition process. Microstructural properties of the resulting Mo thin films such as crystal structure, orientation, surface morphology, microstrain, dislocation density and electrical properties were characterized and presented in this paper. The variation in the aforesaid growth parameters induced different growth rates in the range of 3.84–12.43 nm/min and subsequently Mo films with varying thickness in the range of 0.7–1.7 μm. All Mo films exhibited preferred crystallographic orientation of (110). Lowest operating pressure (0.88 Pa) resulted in Mo film with compressive stress and subsequently peeled off due poor adhesiveness on soda lime glass (SLG) substrates. The resistivity of Mo films was found to be in the range of 40–800 μΩ·cm and dependent on the thickness and structural imperfections such as microstrain and dislocation density.