Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-g7gxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-06T09:02:39.292Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Mechanical Properties of AlN Thin Films Prepared by Ion Beam Assisted Deposition

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 March 2011

Shuichi Miyabe
Affiliation:
National Defense Academy, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Yokosuka, Kanagawa 239-8686, Japan
Toshiyuki Okawa
Affiliation:
National Defense Academy, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Yokosuka, Kanagawa 239-8686, Japan
Nobuaki Kitazawa
Affiliation:
National Defense Academy, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Yokosuka, Kanagawa 239-8686, Japan
Yoshihisa Watanabe
Affiliation:
National Defense Academy, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Yokosuka, Kanagawa 239-8686, Japan
Yoshikazu Nakamura
Affiliation:
National Defense Academy, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Yokosuka, Kanagawa 239-8686, Japan
Get access

Abstract

Aluminum nitride (AlN) thin films were prepared by ion-beam assisted deposition method, and the influence of the nitrogen ion beam energy on their microstructure and mechanical properties was studied by changing the ion beam energy from 0.1 to 1.5 keV. Films prepared with a low-energy ion beam show a columnar structure, while films prepared with a high-energy ion beam show a granular structure. The film hardness is found to decrease with increasing nitrogen ion beam energy. It is also found that the film hardness does not change drastically after annealing in nitrogen atmosphere at 500 °C, yielding the residual stress relaxation. It is proposed that the film hardness is dependent on the film microstructure, which can be controlled with the nitrogen ion beam energy, rather than the residual stress in the films.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2001

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1. Wolf, G. K., Nucl. Instr. Meth. B65, 107 (1992).Google Scholar
2. Nakamura, Y., Watanabe, Y., Hirayama, S. and Naota, Y., Surf. Coat. Technol. 68–69, 203 (1994).Google Scholar
3. Watanabe, Y., Nakamura, Y., Hirayama, S. and Naota, Y. in Film Synthesis and Growth Using Energetic Beams, edited by Atwater, H. A., Dickinson, J. T., Lowndes, D. H. and Polman, A.. (Mater. Res. Soc. Proc. 388, Pittsburgh, PA, 1995) pp.399404.Google Scholar
4. Nakamura, Y., Watanabe, Y., Hirayama, S. and Naota, Y., Surf. Coat. Technol. 76–77, 337 (1995).Google Scholar
5. Watanabe, Y., Nakamura, Y., Hirayama, S. and Naota, Y., in Polycrystalline Thin Films: Structure, Texture, Properties, and Applications II, edited by Frost, H. J., Parker, M. A., Ross, C. A. and Holm, E. A. (Mater. Res. Soc. Proc. 403, Pittsburgh, PA 1996) pp.539544.Google Scholar
6. Watanabe, Y., Nakamura, Y., Hirayama, S. and Naota, Y., Ceramics International 22, 509 (1996).Google Scholar
7. Hatwar, T. K., Shin, S. C. and Stinson, D. G., IEEE Tras. Mag MAG22, 946 (1986).Google Scholar
8. Bengtsson, S., Bergh, M., Choumas, M., Olesen, C. and Jeppson, K., Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 35, 4175 (1996).Google Scholar
9. Kobayashi, Y., Tanaka, N., Okano, H., Takeuchi, K., Usuki, T. and Shibata, K., Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 34, 2688 (1995).Google Scholar
10. Sakuragi, Y., Watanabe, Y., Amamoto, Y. and Nakamura, Y., J. Mat. Sci; Mat. In Electronic 10, 533 (1999).Google Scholar
11. Thornton, J. A., Ann. Rev. Mater. Sci. 7, 239 (1977).Google Scholar
12. Watanabe, Y., Kitazawa, N., Nakamura, Y., Li, C., Sekino, T. and Niihara, K., J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 18, 1567 (2000).Google Scholar