Growth-microstructure-thermal property relations in AlN thin films-Reference-Cited by-同舟云学术

Growth-microstructure-thermal property relations in AlN thin films

Published:2022-11-07 Issue:17 Volume:132 Page:175108
ISSN:0021-8979
Container-title:Journal of Applied Physics
language:en
Short-container-title:Journal of Applied Physics

Author:

Song Yiwen¹^ORCID,Zhang Chi²,Lundh James Spencer¹^ORCID,Huang Hsien-Lien³,Zheng Yue⁴,Zhang Yingying²,Park Mingyo⁴,Mirabito Timothy⁵,Beaucejour Rossiny⁶^ORCID,Chae Chris³,McIlwaine Nathaniel⁵,Esteves Giovanni⁷^ORCID,Beechem Thomas E.⁸^ORCID,Moe Craig⁹^ORCID,Dargis Rytis¹⁰,Jones Jeremy¹¹,Leach Jacob H.¹²,Lavelle Robert M.¹³,Snyder David W.¹³,Maria Jon-Paul⁵,Olsson Roy H.⁶^ORCID,Redwing Joan M.⁵^ORCID,Ansari Azadeh⁴,Hwang Jinwoo³^ORCID,Wang Xiaojia²^ORCID,Foley Brian M.¹,Trolier-McKinstry Susan E.⁵^ORCID,Choi Sukwon¹^ORCID

Affiliation:

1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA

2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA

3. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA

4. School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, USA

5. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA

6. Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA

7. Microsystems Engineering, Science and Applications (MESA), Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87123, USA

8. School of Mechanical Engineering and Birck Nanotechnology Center, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47904, USA

9. Akoustis, Inc., Canandaigua, New York 14424, USA

10. IQE Plc, Greensboro, North Carolina 27407, USA

11. Nitride Global Inc., Wichita, Kansas 67213, USA

12. Kyma Technologies Inc., Raleigh, North Carolina 27617, USA

13. Electronic Materials and Devices Department, Applied Research Laboratory, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA

Abstract

AlN thin films are enabling significant progress in modern optoelectronics, power electronics, and microelectromechanical systems. The various AlN growth methods and conditions lead to different film microstructures. In this report, phonon scattering mechanisms that impact the cross-plane (κz; along the c-axis) and in-plane (κr; parallel to the c-plane) thermal conductivities of AlN thin films prepared by various synthesis techniques are investigated. In contrast to bulk single crystal AlN with an isotropic thermal conductivity of ∼330 W/m K, a strong anisotropy in the thermal conductivity is observed in the thin films. The κz shows a strong film thickness dependence due to phonon-boundary scattering. Electron microscopy reveals the presence of grain boundaries and dislocations that limit the κr. For instance, oriented films prepared by reactive sputtering possess lateral crystalline grain sizes ranging from 20 to 40 nm that significantly lower the κr to ∼30 W/m K. Simulation results suggest that the self-heating in AlN film bulk acoustic resonators can significantly impact the power handling capability of RF filters. A device employing an oriented film as the active piezoelectric layer shows an ∼2.5× higher device peak temperature as compared to a device based on an epitaxial film.

Funder

National Science Foundation

Air Force Office of Scientific Research

Publisher

AIP Publishing

Subject

General Physics and Astronomy

Link

https://aip.scitation.org/doi/am-pdf/10.1063/5.0106916

Reference82 articles.

1. Piezoelectric aluminum nitride thin films for microelectromechanical systems

2. Piezoelectric properties and residual stress of sputtered AlN thin films for MEMS applications