GROWTH OF SPUTTERED-ALUMINUM OXIDE THIN FILMS ON Si (100) AND Si (111) SUBSTRATES WITH Al2O3 BUFFER LAYER
Abstract
Aluminum oxide (Al2O3) thin films with Al2O3 buffer layer were deposited on Si (100) and Si (111) substrates using RF magnetron sputtering of Al2O3 target in Ar atmosphere. The synthesized films were then annealed at the temperature of 400C, 600C and 800C in nitrogen (N2) environment for 6h. Structural properties and surface morphology are examined by using X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM) and Atomic Force Microscope (AFM). XRD analysis indicated that different orientation of Al2O3 were formed with different intensities due to increase in the annealing temperature. From FESEM cross-section analysis results, it is observed that the thickness of films were increased as the annealing temperature increased. EDX analysis shows that the concentration of aluminum and oxygen on both the Si substrates increased with the increase in annealing temperature. The surface roughness of the films were found to be decreased first when the annealing temperature is increased to 400C, yet the roughness increased when the annealing temperature is further increased to 800C.
