Pulsed plasma-assisted PVD sputter-deposited alumina thin films

Crystalline γ-Al 2O 3 thin films have been deposited using reactive sputtering of aluminum targets. To prevent arcing, a dual magnetron configuration was used, while the targets were powered by a bipolar pulse power generator at 50 kHz. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that films grown at...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Surface & coatings technology 2003-01, Vol.162 (2), p.174-182
Main Authors: Schütze, Andreas, Quinto, Dennis T
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alumina coatings
Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science
rheology
Deposition by sputtering
Exact sciences and technology
Materials science
Mechanical properties
Methods of deposition of films and coatings
film growth and epitaxy
Physics
Process control
Pulsed magnetron sputtering
Structure investigations
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Crystalline γ-Al 2O 3 thin films have been deposited using reactive sputtering of aluminum targets. To prevent arcing, a dual magnetron configuration was used, while the targets were powered by a bipolar pulse power generator at 50 kHz. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that films grown at 550 °C have a fine-grained morphology. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed that approximately 80% of the film has been condensed and grown in the γ-phase crystal structure. Film hardness and elastic modulus values obtained by nanoindentation on ∼2-μm-thick films were measured as approximately 25 GPa and 350 Gla respectively at 300 mN load. Constant particle bombardment of the growing films was important and the film morphology could be changed from a strong columnar to a dense compact structure.
ISSN:0257-8972
1879-3347
DOI:10.1016/S0257-8972(02)00705-3