Effect of H2 on Microstructures and Properties of AlN Films Deposited by Reactive Magnetron Sputtering

Abstract

Polycrystalline aluminum nitride (AlN) thin films were deposited by pulsed DC reactive magnetron sputtering in the mixed gas of argon, nitrogen and hydrogen. The deposited films were characterized by XRD, SEM, EDS, AFM, UV-vis spectroscopy and scratch test. The results show that hydrogen significantly affects the microstructures and properties of AlN films. The preferred orientation of AlN thin film transforms from c-axis to a-axis with the increase of hydrogen content. The mean transmittance and adhesive strength increases obviously when AlN films was deposited at high hydrogen content atmosphere.