Influences of laser energy density and annealing on structure properties of AIN films prepared by pulsed laser deposition

Aluminum nitride (AlN) films with h＜100＞ crystalline orientation are fabricated on p-Si (100) substrates at room temperature by pulsed laser deposition. The effects of laser energy density and annealing on the quality of the films are studied by x-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The crystalline quality of AlN films is improved considerably by increasing the laser energy density while there is increased number of farraginous particles on the surface. The annealing treatment at 600℃ produces a recrystallization process in the film, characterized by the improvement of the original crystallinity, the appearance of new crystalline orientations, and the increase of the crystallites.The surface becomes rougher due to the increase of the grain size during annealing.