Deposition and piezoelectric characteristics of ZnO films by usingan ECR sputtering system

Piezoelectric properties of ZnO films, were investigated by using an Electron Cyclotron Resonance (ECR) sputtering system. It was confirmed that this system was capable of depositing a ZnO film with a large specific resistance, and good c-axis orientation on an interdigital transducer (IDT)/glass substrate at a low temperature (less than 200°C) and in a low gas pressure (~10^-4 torr). Furthermore, these ZnO films exhibited excellent SAW characteristics (insertion losses) and effective electromechanical coupling factors (k _eff) compared with ZnO films deposited by a conventional RF magnetron sputtering system. Further, this ECR sputtering system was capable of depositing a ZnO film, without heating the substrate, that was capable of propagating a Rayleigh SAW at 700 MHz for the first time     

Gas thermal conductivity sensor based on SAW

An uncoated surface acoustic wave (SAW) delay line integrated with a suitable film heater is used as a gas sensitive element based on thermal conductivity change. It detects concentrations from 0.1-100% of H₂, O₂, He, and Ar in N₂ in the temperature range from 20-150°C. The value and sign of the SAW gas response are controlled by substrate material and reference gas     

Theoretical study on SAW characteristics of layered structuresincluding a diamond layer

Diamond has the highest surface acoustic wave (SAW) velocity among all materials and thus can provide much advantage for fabrication of high frequency SAW devices when it is combined with a piezoelectric thin film. Basic SAW properties of layered structures consisting of a piezoelectric material layer, a diamond layer and a substrate were examined by theoretical calculation. Rayleigh mode SAW's with large SAW velocities up to 12,000 m/s and large electro-mechanical coupling coefficients from 1 to 11% were found to propagate in ZnO/diamond/Si, LiNbO₃/diamond/Si and LiTaO₃/diamond/Si structures. It was also found that a SiO₂/ZnO/diamond/Si structure can realize a zero temperature coefficient of frequency with a high phase velocity of 8,000-9,000 m/s and a large electro-mechanical coupling coefficient of up to 4%     

Growth of epitaxial YSZ films on LiNbO3 substrates

We report on the epitaxial growth and characterization of yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) films on X-cut LiNbO₃ single crystals. Epitaxial (100) YSZ films were synthesized by the on-axis RF magnetron sputtering technique. Extensive analyses of the structure and microstructure of films with different thickness reveals the existence of an Li-deficient phase, LiNb₃O₈, at the interface between the substrate and the film. The origin of the presence of this interface is discussed, as well as its consequences on the structural and morphologic properties of the epitaxial YSZ film.     

Fabrication of high frequency ZnO thin film SAW devices on silicon substrate with a diamond-like carbon buffer layer using RF magnetron sputtering

Diamond-like carbon (DLC) film is a promising candidate for surface acoustic wave (SAW) device applications because of its higher acoustic velocity. A zinc oxide (ZnO) thin film has been deposited on DLC film/Si substrate by RF magnetron sputtering; the optimized parameters for the ZnO sputtering are RF power density of 0.55 W/cm², substrate temperature of 380 °C, gas flow ratio (Ar/O₂) of 5/1 and total sputter pressure of 1.33 Pa. The results showed that when the thickness of the ZnO thin films was decreased, the phase velocity of the SAW devices increased significantly.     

Effect of deposition temperature on the structural and thermoelectric properties of bismuth telluride thin films grown by co-sputtering

Thermoelectric bismuth telluride thin films were prepared on SiO₂/Si substrates by radio-frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering. Co-sputtering method with Bi and Te targets was adopted to control films' composition. Bi_xTe_y thin films were elaborated at various deposition temperatures with fixed RF powers, which yielded the stoichiometric Bi₂Te₃ film deposition without intentional substrate heating. The effects of deposition temperature on surface morphology, crystallinity and electrical transport properties were investigated. Hexagonal crystallites were clearly visible at the surface of films deposited above 290 °C. Change of dominant phase from rhombohedral Bi₂Te₃ to hexagonal BiTe was confirmed with X-ray diffraction analyses. Seebeck coefficients of all samples have negative value, indicating the prepared Bi_xTe_y films are n-type conduction. Optimum of Seebeck coefficient and power factor were obtained at the deposition temperature of 225 °C (about − 55 μV/K and 3 × 10^− 4 W/K²·m, respectively). Deterioration of thermoelectric properties at higher temperature could be explained with Te deficiency and resultant BiTe phase evolution due to the evaporation of Te elements from the film surface.     

The characterization of sputtered polycrystalline aluminum nitrideon silicon by surface acoustic wave measurements

Polycrystalline aluminum nitride films were deposited on Si₃ N₄ coated (100) silicon substrates by the reactive sputtering method. We have carried out experiments to evaluate the effect of AlN material parameters on the SAW characteristics. The SAW transducers were fabricated by forming interdigitated Al electrodes on top of the AlN films and transmission measurements made over the frequency range from 50 MHz to 1.5 GHz. The SAW characteristics were correlated with material parameters of crystallite orientation, grain size, surface morphology and oxygen concentration. A key material parameter affecting the SAW characteristics was found to be the preferred degree of crystallite orientation with the c-axis normal to the plane of the substrate. The better oriented the AlN grains, the stronger the SAW response, the higher the SAW phase velocity, and the lower the insertion and propagation losses over the entire frequency range of measurement. Above 500 MHz the propagation losses of the well oriented films followed a frequency squared dependence only slightly higher than the reported values for the best epitaxial films. The coupling factors deduced from the transducer characteristics are in the upper range of values reported by Tsubouchi for epitaxial AlN films deposited on the basal plane of sapphire. There was a strong correlation between the X-ray diffraction intensity from the (002) planes and the oxygen content in the films     

High temperature stable GHz-range low-loss wide band transducersand filter using SiO2/LiNbO3, LiTaO3

GHz-range low-loss transducers and filters are required for communication systems, especially mobile telephone communication systems. Many types of low insertion-loss transducers and filters utilizing the high electromechanical coupling coefficient (K²) materials such as LiNbO₃ and LiTaO₃ have been developed. Unfortunately, these materials have large temperature coefficients of the frequency (TCF). In this paper, SAW substrates with high coupling coefficients and low propagation attenuations and small temperature coefficient of frequency in the GHz-range are theoretically and experimentally investigated. The experimental results show very low propagation loss of 0.02 dB/λ ₀ and larger K² than those of the substrates of LiNbO₃ and LiTaO₃ at the TCF of below -5 ppm/°C at 1~2 GHz-range. The low-loss filter results using internal reflection types of IDT show the insertion loss of about 2.9 dB at 1 GHz and 4.9 dB at 2 GHz under the TCF's of 0 and +20 ppm/°C. These materials are applicable for devices at GHz-range because SiO₂ thickness is very thin such as below 1 μm and the center frequency shift of the filter versus SiO₂ thickness is very small     

Preparation of strontium titanate thin films by mirror-confinement-type electron cyclotron resonance plasma sputtering

Using mirror-confinement-type electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma sputtering method, strontium titanate (SrTiO₃) thin films have been prepared on Si and Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si substrates at a low substrate temperature (below 450 K) in a low pressure (2.7×10⁻² Pa) environment of pure Ar and Ar/O₂ mixture. Prepared film surfaces were very smooth regardless of high deposition rate (8.5 nm/min). The composition ratio Sr/Ti of Sr to Ti in the films varied with the distance between the target and the substrate. All as-deposited films on Si substrates were found to be amorphous and were crystallized by post-deposition annealing using an electric furnace at 650 K, i.e. approximately 250 K lower than annealing for films obtained by conventional RF magnetron sputtering. Post-deposition annealing of these films using millimeter-wave radiation decreased the crystallization temperature to a value of 550 K. Furthermore, all as-deposited films on Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si substrates by a plasma of Ar and O₂ gas mixture were found to be crystallized regardless of no substrate heating.     

Sputtering ZnO films on langasite and its SAW properties

C-axis-oriented ZnO films were sputtered on Langasite substrate (LGS, La(3)Ga(5)SiO(14)). The crystalline structure of the films was determined by grazing incident angle X-ray diffraction, the surface microstructure of films was investigated by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy, the atom composition ratio O/Zn of films was determined by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and the resistivity of films was determined by the four-point probe instrument. The measurement results showed those films prepared were all polycrystalline hexagonal ZnO films. By analyzing the microstructure of the ZnO films, those prepared at the oxygen flow rate (O(2)/O(2)+Ar) of 20%, the RF power of 200 W, and the substrate temperature of 200 degrees C had the best performance: highly c-axis-oriented microstructures, dense surface morphology, and the atom composition ratio 1.02. The measured scattering parameters of the SAW device fabricated on the composite substrate (ZnO/LGS) with film thickness 1.76 microm showed an average shifted velocity around 2741 m/s at 57.1 MHz and a electromagnetic coupling coefficient greater than 1%.     

Study of diamond-like carbon films on LiNbO3

Diamond-like carbon (DLC) films have been successfully deposited on Y-cut LiNbO₃ substrates using the plasma enhanced CVD technique. A thin interlayer of SiC between the DLC films and the LiNbO₃ is necessary to ensure a good adhesion of the DLC films to the LiNbO₃ substrate. The physical properties and structural network of the DLC films have been investigated in detail. It is observed that the film hardness is increased with increasing the film thickness, as is the adhesion of the DLC films to the LiNbO₃ substrates. The effect of accelerating surface acoustic wave by the DLC films has been confirmed.     

离轴磁控溅射法生长1-3维PZT-NFO纳米复合薄膜

采用90°离轴磁控溅射法, 在MgAl₂O₄(001)单晶基片上自组装生长了Pb(Zr_0.52Ti_0.48)O₃-NiFe₂O₄ (PZT-NFO)复合磁电薄膜, 并研究了基片温度、氩氧比和溅射功率等因素对薄膜结构和性能的影响。结果表明, 适合生长PZT-NFO薄膜的条件为基片温度800℃, 氩氧比1:1, 溅射功率160 W。XRD测试显示, PZT-NFO薄膜为外延生长薄膜, 且PZT相与NFO相之间的垂直晶格失配非常小。AFM和SEM结构观察表明, 薄膜具有清晰的1-3维纳米复合结构, 铁磁相NFO纳米柱直径约为80~150 nm。降低氩氧比有助于NFO相的形成, 但溅射功率过大会造成1-3维结构向无规则0-3维结构转变。磁性能测量表明纳米复合薄膜的饱和磁化强度在120~160 kA/m之间, 低于块体的NFO相, 可能是由于两相的界面扩散所造成。     

Growth of La2Mo2O9 films on porous Al2O3 substrates by radio frequency magnetron sputtering

Synthesis conditions of La₂Mo₂O₉ thin film by radio frequency (RF) sputtering technique on Al₂O₃ ceramic substrates are studied. It is found that the deposition temperature and oxygen partial pressure are the most important factors for obtaining pure La₂Mo₂O₉ films. Varying both parameters, Mo-rich, stoichiometric, and Mo-deficient films are obtained. With increasing the La:Mo ratio, films become denser. A crust layer is observed on top of the Mo-rich and the Mo-deficient films. The formation of the La₂Mo₂O₉ phase is discussed with respect to the sputtering mechanism.     

Analysis of SAW properties of epitaxial ZnO films grown on R-Al2O3 substrates

ZnO thin films with a high piezoelectric coupling coefficient are widely used for high frequency and low loss surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices when the film is deposited on top of a high acoustic velocity substrate, such as diamond or sapphire. The performance of these devices is critically dependent on the quality of the ZnO films as well as of the interface between ZnO and the substrate. In this paper, we report the studies on piezoelectric properties of epitaxial (112¯0) ZnO thin films grown on R-plane sapphire substrates using metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) technique. The c-axis of the ZnO film is in-plane. The ZnO/R-Al₂O₃ interface is atomically sharp. SAW delay lines, aligned parallel to the c-axis, were used to characterize the surface wave velocity, coupling coefficient, and temperature coefficient of frequency as functions of film thickness to wavelength ratio (h/λ). The acoustic wave properties of the material system were calculated using Adler's matrix method, and the devices were simulated using the quasi-static approximation based on Green's function analysis     

Effects of sputtering pressure and nitrogen concentration on the preferred orientation of AIN thin films

Aluminium-nitride films were prepared on glass substrates by reactive radio frequency (r.f.) magnetron sputtering in argon/nitrogen gas mixtures containing 25 ~ 75 1/2; nitrogen at substrate temperatures below 150C. It is important to control the crystallographic orientation and the surface morphology of the films with the deposition parameters for surface-acoustic-wave (SAW) devices. The change of crystallographic orientation with the sputtering pressure and the nitrogen concentration was calculated from the texture coefficient of the (0002) plane based on X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns. It was found that a change of the c-axis from a parallel to a normal orientation, with respect to the substrate surface, occurred with a decrease in the sputtering pressure and an increase in the nitrogen concentration. From observations of the cross-section and the surface morphology, aluminium-nitride films exhibited a columnar structure and the grain size at the film surface increased an increase in the sputtering pressure and with a decrease in the nitrogen concentration.     

Effect of nitrogen addition on the properties and thermal stability of fluorinated amorphous carbon films

Continuous fluorinated amorphous carbon (a-C : F) films doped with nitrogen (a-C : F : N) were deposited by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition using CF₄ and C₂H₂ gases as precursors with the addition of N₂ gas. The surface morphologies, chemical compositions, deposition rates, thermal stability and mechanical properties of these films varied with the deposition parameters, including CF₄ and N₂ feed gas concentrations, processing pressure, plasma power and substrate temperature. With increasing N₂ feed gas concentration, the nitrogen content of the a-C : F : N films increased to about 6 at.% and contributed to higher mechanical properties. After thermal annealing, the a-C : F films with higher fluorine contents exhibited more obvious fluorine release and extensive film thickness shrinkage, whereas the a-C : F : N films with higher contents of nitrogen doping yielded less composition variations, smaller thickness shrinkages, higher mechanical properties, and conclusively better thermal stability.     

AlN/FeCoSiB磁电复合薄膜的制备及其逆磁电效应研究

借助射频磁控溅射成功制备了AlN/FeCoSiB磁电复合薄膜, 探讨了退火条件对AlN薄膜压电性能和FeCoSiB薄膜磁性能的影响, 并研究了其逆磁电响应。结果显示, 500℃退火处理的AlN薄膜具有高度(002)择优取向和柱状生长结构; 经过300℃退火后FeCoSiB薄膜的磁场灵敏度提高。该磁电复合薄膜的逆磁电电压系数(α_CME)在偏置磁场(H_dc)为875 A/m时达到最大值62.5 A/(m·V); 且磁感应强度(B)随交变电压(V_ac)的变化呈现优异的线性响应(线性度达到1.3%)。这种AlN/FeCoSiB磁电复合薄膜在磁场或电场探测领域具有广阔的应用前景。     

基体表面粗糙度对MoS_(2)/Ti薄膜摩擦磨损性能的影响EI北大核心CSCD

为揭示基体表面粗糙度对MoS_(2)/Ti固体润滑薄膜摩擦磨损性能的影响规律,并探究其摩擦磨损机理,采用磁控溅射方法,在不同表面粗糙度的轴承钢基体上沉积MoS_(2)/Ti薄膜。通过划痕测试仪、X射线衍射仪、场发射扫描电子显微镜和粗糙度轮廓仪,分别评价MoS_(2)/Ti薄膜的膜基结合力、物相成分、表面微观形貌以及表面粗糙度,并采用球-盘摩擦磨损实验研究干摩擦、固体-油复合润滑和固体-脂复合润滑条件下,MoS_(2)/Ti薄膜的摩擦磨损性能。结果表明:随着基体表面粗糙度的增加,MoS_(2)/Ti薄膜的表面粗糙度逐渐增加;薄膜中(002)_(MoS_(2))和(100)_(MoS_(2))衍射峰的强度先减弱后增加;薄膜与基体的结合性能降低。当基体表面粗糙度为0.01μm时,干摩擦条件下MoS_(2)/Ti薄膜具有良好的润滑特性,平均摩擦因数为0.101,磨痕浅且小;随基体粗糙度的升高,样品的平均摩擦因数和磨损率均是先增大后减小,薄膜的主要磨损机制由磨粒磨损转变为屑片形成和破碎。当基体粗糙度较大时(R_(a)=0.26μm),分子间相互作用的影响大于机械啮合作用。采用固体-油复合润滑,高基体粗糙度的薄膜磨损表面不再出现片层剥落现象,磨痕较浅,平均摩擦因数最高可减小19%。固体-脂复合润滑条件下,样品摩擦磨损性能较差,基体粗糙度对摩擦因数的影响不显著。     

Effect of particle bombardment on the orientation and the residual stress of sputtered AlN films for SAW devices

We present a study of the effect of particle bombardment on the preferred orientation and the residual stress of polycrystalline aluminum nitride (AlN) thin films for surface acoustic wave (SAW) applications. Films were deposited on silicon (100) substrates by radio frequency (RF) sputtering of an aluminum target in an argon and nitrogen gas mixture. The main deposition parameters were changed as follows: the total pressure from 4 mTorr to 11 mTorr, the N2 content in the gas mixture from 20% to 80%, and the substrate self-bias voltage from -10 V to -30 V. If a sufficiently high negative substrate self-bias voltage is induced, (00.2)-oriented films are obtained over the full ranges of pressure and N2 content. Such films have values of residual stress ranging from -3 GPa to +1 GPa, depending on the deposition conditions. Our results suggest that the energy of the Ar ions colliding with the substrate controls the preferred orientation of the films, whereas the directionality of the ions (for the same energy) is the main factor determining the residual stress. To demonstrate the suitability of our material for the intended application, SAW filters with good electroacoustic response have been fabricated using AlN thin films with optimized (00.2) orientation and controlled residual stress.     

α籽晶促进低温反应溅射沉积α-Al2O3薄膜

分别使用反应溅射Al+α-Al₂O₃(15% α-Al₂O₃,质量分数)复合靶和在金箔基体表面预植α-Al₂O₃籽晶,促进α-Al₂O₃薄膜的低温沉积。使用扫描电子显微镜(SEM)、掠入射X射线衍射(GIXRD)和能谱仪(EDS)等方法表征薄膜样品的表面形貌、相结构和元素组成。结果表明,在射频反应溅射Al+α-Al₂O₃复合靶、沉积温度为560℃条件下能在Si(100)基体上沉积出化学计量比的单相α-Al₂O₃薄膜;使用射频反应溅射Al靶、沉积温度为500℃条件下能在预植α-Al₂O₃籽晶(籽晶密度为10⁶/cm²)的金箔表面沉积出化学计量比的单相α-Al₂O₃薄膜。两种研究方案的结果均表明,α-Al₂O₃籽晶能促进低温沉积单相α-Al₂O₃薄膜。