Influence of Substrate Temperature on the Characteristics of LaB6 Films

Abstract

Lanthanum hexaboride (LaB6) films were deposited on SiO2 substrates in a vacuum chamber by d.c. magnetron sputtering from Lanthanum hexaboride pellet target. The fabricate temperature was adjusted from per 50°C. The influence of fabricate temperature on the characteristics of the films was studied. The surface morphology was studied by atom force microscope (AFM). The results of the AFM proved that the films were compact and even. Maximum roughness of the films is no more than 15.1 nm, and the average roughness is less than 3.1nm. The results of XRD showed that the structure of the films is crystal, except the film that fabricated at the temperature of 500°C. It is noticeable that the (100) crystal face is dominated in the film, and that is different from the bulk LaB6. The crystallization of the films changed obviously. Films that fabricated at 400°C crystallized better than others. The film thickness was measure using a Stylus Profiler. The results of the Stylus Profiler proved that the temperature showed little effect on the thickness of the films.