Ion beam analysis of sputtered AlN films

Abstract Polycrystalline aluminium nitride (AlN) films have been prepared by DC reactive magnetron sputtering followed by its characterization using advance electronic and optical techniques. Film quality has been optimized mainly using deposition parameters. Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS) and nuclear interaction (NR) techniques were used to analyze the film density (atoms/cm 3 ), elemental composition and impurities of the grown film. Our ion beam analysis (IBA) was based on the particle energy spectra bombarded with a low-energy deuterium beam. The corresponding linear thickness of the film was measured using a profilometer. X-Ray diffraction, spectroscopic ellipsometry and atomic force microscope have also been employed to reinforce the results. We found that highly dense and stoichiometric films can be obtained at higher plasma current. Under optimal deposition conditions, the film densities of ∼2.45 g/cm 3 , FWHM ∼0.125 and the surface roughness ∼6.758 nm have been achieved successfully.