Pulsed Laser Deposition Parameter Optimization for Growth of Alumina (Al2O3) Thin Film on Silicon (100)

Abstract

ABSTRACTPulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique was used to grow alumina (Al2O3) thin films on (100) silicon substrate under different deposition conditions. The relationship between Al2O3thin film thickness, hardness, elastic modulus, surface morphology and PLD parameters such as laser energy and substrate temperature was investigated. The Film thickness was found to increase with an increase in laser energy and to decrease with an increase in substrate temperature. The film hardness and elastic modulus increases as substrate temperature increases. We have also shown that films are amorphous at lower substrate temperatures and transform to mixture of amorphous and crystalline phases. The ratio of amorphous to crystalline phases decreases with increase in temperature. The surfaces of Al2O3film grown using PLD was found very smooth with least root square roughness less than 2 nm.