Effects of deposition parameters on AlN film growth using reactive DC magnetron sputtering

We synthesized AIN films by using a reactive DC magnetron sputtering at two different synthesis modes and investigated the dependence of some properties of the deposited AIN films on deposition parameters such as the nitrogen concentration in the mixtures, the cathode voltage, and the distance between the target and the substrate. The films prepared at synthesis mode 1 (a high cathode voltage and a long distance between the target and the substrate) grew preferentially with the c-axis parallel to the substrate surface, but the films prepared at synthesis mode 2 grew preferentially with the c-axis normal to the substrate surface. The grain size: the density, and the crystallization of the deposited films were strongly dependent on the variation of the nitrogen concentration in the sputtering atmosphere, but the preferential orientation of the films was not affected by the variation of the N-2/Ar + N-2 ratio in the sputtering atmosphere.