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Variation of Structural and Surface Properties of RF Sputtered Aluminum Oxide (Al2O3) Thin Films Due to the Influence of Annealing Temperature and Time

Received: 5 November 2014     Accepted: 21 November 2014     Published: 18 December 2014
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Abstract

Aluminum oxide (Al2O3) thin films were deposited on Si (111) substrates by using RF magnetron sputtering of Al2O3 target in Ar atmosphere. The synthesized films were annealed in the temperature range of 200 to 600°C in nitrogen (N2) environment for 2 and 4 hours. Variations in these structural and surface properties of the films were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscope (AFM). XRD analysis reveals that the synthesized films are in polycrystalline form with preferential orientation along (111) plane. By increasing the annealing temperature, the crystallite size of films was found to increase, whereas the micro-strain and dislocation density were decreased. The decrease in micro-strain and dislocation density was ascribed to the reduction in the lattice strain. The surface roughness of the films was increased with the increase of the annealing temperature, which was attributed to the films’ grains growth and also with the increase in RF sputtering power.

Published in International Journal of Materials Science and Applications (Volume 3, Issue 6)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijmsa.20140306.29
Page(s) 404-409
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2014. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

RF Sputtering, Aluminium Oxide, Thin Film

References
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    Lim Wei Qiang, Mutharasu Devarajan. (2014). Variation of Structural and Surface Properties of RF Sputtered Aluminum Oxide (Al2O3) Thin Films Due to the Influence of Annealing Temperature and Time. International Journal of Materials Science and Applications, 3(6), 404-409. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijmsa.20140306.29

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    ACS Style

    Lim Wei Qiang; Mutharasu Devarajan. Variation of Structural and Surface Properties of RF Sputtered Aluminum Oxide (Al2O3) Thin Films Due to the Influence of Annealing Temperature and Time. Int. J. Mater. Sci. Appl. 2014, 3(6), 404-409. doi: 10.11648/j.ijmsa.20140306.29

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    AMA Style

    Lim Wei Qiang, Mutharasu Devarajan. Variation of Structural and Surface Properties of RF Sputtered Aluminum Oxide (Al2O3) Thin Films Due to the Influence of Annealing Temperature and Time. Int J Mater Sci Appl. 2014;3(6):404-409. doi: 10.11648/j.ijmsa.20140306.29

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijmsa.20140306.29,
      author = {Lim Wei Qiang and Mutharasu Devarajan},
      title = {Variation of Structural and Surface Properties of RF Sputtered Aluminum Oxide (Al2O3) Thin Films Due to the Influence of Annealing Temperature and Time},
      journal = {International Journal of Materials Science and Applications},
      volume = {3},
      number = {6},
      pages = {404-409},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijmsa.20140306.29},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijmsa.20140306.29},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijmsa.20140306.29},
      abstract = {Aluminum oxide (Al2O3) thin films were deposited on Si (111) substrates by using RF magnetron sputtering of Al2O3 target in Ar atmosphere. The synthesized films were annealed in the temperature range of 200 to 600°C in nitrogen (N2) environment for 2 and 4 hours. Variations in these structural and surface properties of the films were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscope (AFM). XRD analysis reveals that the synthesized films are in polycrystalline form with preferential orientation along (111) plane. By increasing the annealing temperature, the crystallite size of films was found to increase, whereas the micro-strain and dislocation density were decreased. The decrease in micro-strain and dislocation density was ascribed to the reduction in the lattice strain. The surface roughness of the films was increased with the increase of the annealing temperature, which was attributed to the films’ grains growth and also with the increase in RF sputtering power.},
     year = {2014}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Variation of Structural and Surface Properties of RF Sputtered Aluminum Oxide (Al2O3) Thin Films Due to the Influence of Annealing Temperature and Time
    AU  - Lim Wei Qiang
    AU  - Mutharasu Devarajan
    Y1  - 2014/12/18
    PY  - 2014
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijmsa.20140306.29
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ijmsa.20140306.29
    T2  - International Journal of Materials Science and Applications
    JF  - International Journal of Materials Science and Applications
    JO  - International Journal of Materials Science and Applications
    SP  - 404
    EP  - 409
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2327-2643
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijmsa.20140306.29
    AB  - Aluminum oxide (Al2O3) thin films were deposited on Si (111) substrates by using RF magnetron sputtering of Al2O3 target in Ar atmosphere. The synthesized films were annealed in the temperature range of 200 to 600°C in nitrogen (N2) environment for 2 and 4 hours. Variations in these structural and surface properties of the films were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscope (AFM). XRD analysis reveals that the synthesized films are in polycrystalline form with preferential orientation along (111) plane. By increasing the annealing temperature, the crystallite size of films was found to increase, whereas the micro-strain and dislocation density were decreased. The decrease in micro-strain and dislocation density was ascribed to the reduction in the lattice strain. The surface roughness of the films was increased with the increase of the annealing temperature, which was attributed to the films’ grains growth and also with the increase in RF sputtering power.
    VL  - 3
    IS  - 6
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Nano Optoelectronics and Research Laboratory, School of Physics, University Sains Malaysia (USM), 11800, Minden, Penang, Malaysia

  • Nano Optoelectronics and Research Laboratory, School of Physics, University Sains Malaysia (USM), 11800, Minden, Penang, Malaysia

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