OXYGEN ION-BEAM ASSISTED THIN-FILM DEPOSITION

Oxide films of several metals were deposited by ion beam sputtering and ion-assisted ion beam sputtering, and tested for chemical state data, impurity content and optical absorption. Results indicate that films are pure, adherent and non-porous. Preliminary data suggest that ion bombardment during film growth at the ion energies used in this study only aids in forming the correct stoichiometry and in lowering optical absorption for certain materials. Preliminary trends also seem to indicate that using metallic targets rather than oxide targets yields less optically absorbing films. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy shows the formation of suboxides or oxycarbides for ion-assisted samples of Ta2O5. © 1990.