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Heteroepitaxial Growth of Transition-Metal Nitride Films

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 February 2011

M. Shinn ,
P.B. Mirkarimi  and
S.A. Barnett
M. Shinn
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL. 60208
P.B. Mirkarimi
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL. 60208
S.A. Barnett
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL. 60208
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Abstract

The nucleation of epitaxial transition-metal nitride films with different lattice mismatch and growth of the corresponding supcrlattices were studied. In-situ Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) was used to characterize the nucleation mechanisms of V0.3Nb0.7N films on TiN (1.7% mismatch), TiN films on VN (2.4% mismatch), TiN films on NbN (3.6% mismatch), NbN films on VN (5.7% mismatch), and VN films on NbN grown by ultra-high vacuum reactive magnetron sputtering. The initial growth mechanism was layer-by-layer for mismatch values up to 3.6%, but three-dimensional island nucleation occurred for 5.7% mismatch. Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) observations of NbN films showed threedimensional islands, confirming the AES results. X-ray diffraction spectra from the corresponding superlattices showed strong superlattice reflections except for the large-mismatch NbN/VN combination. Cross-sctional transmission electron microscopy studies showed that the superlattice layers were.velldefined and planar for low mismatch, but were irregular and non-planar for VN/NbN, in agreement with the X-ray, AES, and STM results. The maximum lattice mismatch for epitaxial nitride superlattice growth was thus limited by island nucleation and in the range from 3.6 - 5.7%.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 263: Symposium F – Mechanisms of Heteroepitaxial Growth , 1992 , 29
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1992

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References

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