Electrical Resistivity Improvement by Precipitation and Strain in Al-Cu Thin Films

Abstract

This work deals with Al-Cu thin films, deposited onto glass substrates by RF (13.56MHz) magnetron sputtering, and annealed at 773K. The film thickness was approximately the same 3-4µm. They are characterized with respect to microstructure, grain size, microstrain, dislocation density and resistivity versus copper content. Al (Cu) deposits containing 1.8, 7.21, 86.17 and 92.5at%Cu have been investigated. The use of X-ray diffraction analysis and transmission electron microscopy lead to the characterization of different structural features of films deposited at room temperature (< 400K) and after annealing (773K). The resistivity of the films was measured using the four-point probe method. The microstrain profile obtained from XRD thanks to the Williamson-Hall method shows an increase with increasing copper content.