EFFECT OF TECHNICAL PARAMETERS ON STRUCTURE AND DEPOSITION RATE OF CHROMIUM OXIDE FILMS PREPARED BY MAGNETRON SPUTTERING

Chromium oxide thin films have been deposited on Si substrate by medium frequency magnetron sputtering method. Influences of parameters, such as the target-substrate distance, sputtering power and substrate bias voltage on structure and deposition rate of the coatings were studied systematically. The structure and surface topography of the coatings have been measured using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Results show that: With an increase in sputtering power, the deposition rate of the films increased, but it decreased with the increasing of the target-substrate distance and substrate bias voltage. The crystal quality can be improved by increasing sputtering power, and the preferred orientation of the films can be tailored by changing the target-substrate distance. When the target distance increases from 60 to 100 mm, thin films mainly present the Cr2O3 phase structure. The optimum parameters for the target of 100 mm target-substrate distance with the sputtering power of 11.2 kW, almost a single Cr2O3 phase of chrome oxide film can be obtained, and the deposition rate was 280 nm/min.