Structural and magnetic properties of micropolycrystalline cobalt thin films fabricated by direct current magnetron sputtering

Pure cobalt(Co)thin films were fabricated by direct current magnetron sputtering,and the effects of sputtering power and pres-sure on the microstructure and electromagnetic properties of the films were investigated.As the sputtering power increases from 15 to 60 W,the Co thin films transition from an amorphous to a polycrystalline state,accompanied by an increase in the intercrystal pore width.Simultaneously,the resistivity decreases from 276 to 99μΩ·cm,coercivity increases from 162 to 293 Oe,and in-plane magnetic aniso-tropy disappears.As the sputtering pressure decreases from 1.6 to 0.2 Pa,grain size significantly increases,resistivity significantly de-creases,and the coercivity significantly increases(from 67 to 280 Oe),which can be attributed to the increase in defect width.Corres-pondingly,a quantitative model for the coercivity of Co thin films was formulated.The polycrystalline films sputtered under pressures of 0.2 and 0.4 Pa exhibit significant in-plane magnetic anisotropy,which is primarily attributable to increased microstress.

Effects of power on ion behaviors in radio-frequency magnetron sputtering of indium tin oxide(ITO)

This study delves into ion behavior at the substrate position within RF magnetron discharges utilizing an indium tin oxide(ITO)target.The positive ion energies exhibit an upward trajectory with increasing RF power,attributed to heightened plasma potential and initial emergent energy.Simultaneously,the positive ion flux escalates owing to amplified sputtering rates and electron density.Conversely,negative ions exhibit broad ion energy distribution functions(IEDFs)characterized by multiple peaks.These patterns are clarified by a combination of radiofrequency oscillation of cathode voltage and plasma potential,alongside ion transport time.This elucidation finds validation in a one-dimensional model encompassing the initial ion energy.At higher RF power,negative ions surpassing 100 e V escalate in both flux and energy,posing a potential risk of sputtering damages to ITO layers.

Structural and optoelectronic properties of AZO thin films prepared by RF magnetron sputtering at room temperature

Al-doped ZnO thin films were prepared on glass substrate using an ultra-high density target by RF magnetron sputtering at room temperature. The microstructure, surface morphology, optical and electrical properties of AZO thin films were investigated by X-ray diffractometer, scanning electron microscope, UV-visible spectrophotometer, four-point probe method, and Hall-effect measurement system. The results showed that all the films obtained were polycrystalline with a hexagonal structure and average optical transmittance of AZO thin films was over 85 % at different sputtering powers. The sputtering power had a great effect on optoelectronic properties of the AZO thin films, especially on the resistivity. The lowest resistivity of 4.5×10^-4 Ω·cm combined with the transmittance of 87.1% was obtained at sputtering power of 200 W. The optical band gap varied between 3.48 and 3.68 eV.

Properties of W/DLC/W-S-C composite films fabricated by magnetron sputtering

A kind of W/DLC/W-S-C composite film was fabricated by magnetron sputtering method.Effects of WSx content on the structure and the adhesion of the composite films were investigated.In addition,tribological behavior of the composite films was studied in the conditions of the ambient air and N2 gas atmosphere by ball-on-disk tester.The results indicate that the composite films show dense and amorphous microstructure.The WCx and WSx compounds are found in amorphous diamond like carbon matrix in the top layers of W-S-C.A proper WSx content is beneficial for improving the adhesion of the composite films.In air atmosphere,the composite films with high C content have better wear resistance and the friction coefficients range from 0.15 to 0.25.In N2 condition,high WSx content is benefit for the wear resistance and the friction coefficients of the composite films range from 0.03 to 0.1.

Effect of bias voltage on compositional, mechanical and corrosion property of ZrNbAlN multilayer films by unbalanced magnetron sputtering

Nano-scaled ZrNbAlN films with different negative bias voltages（Vb） were deposited on bronze substrate and Si（100） wafers by a reactive unbalanced magnetron sputtering technique. Composition and structure properties were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. It is found that mole concentrations of Zr and Nb are affected by Vb, which leads to the increase of binding energy of N 1s and Al 2p and decrease of binding energy of Zr 3d5/2 and Nb 3d5/2. Surface morphologies evolution controlled by Vb could be observed. Furthermore, X-ray diffraction patterns reveal that these films show a（111） preferred orientation. Moreover, mechanical property and corrosion behavior of ZrNbAlN films were characterized by nanoindentation test and corrosion test, respectively. A maximum value of 21.85 GPa at-70 V occurs in the ZrNbAlN- bronze system, which outperforms uncoated bronze. Corrosion experiments in 0.5 mol/L NaCl and 0.5 mol/L HCl solution show that corrosion potential and corrosion current are dependent on Vb, and better anti-corrosion property could be obtained at-90 V.

Influences of working pressure on properties for TiO_2 films deposited by DC pulse magnetron sputtering

TiO2 films were deposited at room temperature by DC pulse magnetron sputtering system.The crystalline structures,morphological features and photocatalytic activity of TiO2 films were systematically investigated by X-ray diffraction（XRD）,atomic force microscopy（AFM） and ultraviolet spectrophotometer,respectively.The results indicated that working pressure was the key deposition parameter in？uencing the TiO2 film phase composition at room temperature,which directly affected its photocatalytic activity.With increasing working pressure,the target self-bias decreases monotonously.Therefore,low temperature TiO2 phase（anatase） could be deposited with high working pressure.The anatase TiO2 films deposited with 1.4 Pa working pressure displayed the highest photocatalytic activity by the decomposition of Methyl Orange solution,which the degradation rate reached the maximum（35%） after irradiation by ultraviolet light for 1 h.

Properties of TiO_2 Thin Films Prepared by Magnetron Sputtering

With rapid progressive application of TiO2 thin films, magnetron sputtering becomes a very interesting method to prepare such multi-functional thin films. This paper focuses on influences of various deposition processes and deposition rate on the structures and properties of TiO2 thin films. Anatase, rutile or amorphous TiO2 films with various crystalline structures and different photocatalytic, optical and electrical properties can be produced by varying sputtering gases, substrate temperature, annealing process, deposition rate and the characteristics of magnetron sputtering. This may in turn affect the functions of TiO2 films in many applications. Furthermore, TiO2-based composites films can overcome many limitations and improve the properties of TiO2 films.

Influence of oxygen gas content on the structural and optical properties of ZnO thin films deposited by RF magnetron sputtering at room temperature

Zinc oxide （ZnO） thin films were deposited on sapphire （0001） substrates at room temperature by radiofrequency （RF） magnetron sputtering at oxygen gas contents of 0%, 25%, 50% and 75%, respectively. The influence of oxygen gas content on the structural and optical properties of ZnO thin films was studied by a surface profile measuring system, X-ray diffraction analysis, atomic force microscopy, and UV spectro- photometry. It is found that the size of ZnO crystalline grains increases first and then decreases with the increase of oxygen gas content, and the maximum grain size locates at the 25% oxygen gas content. The crystalline quality and average optical transmittance （〉90%） in the visi- ble-light region of the ZnO film prepared at an oxygen gas content of 25% are better than those of ZnO films at the other contents. The obtained results can be attributed to the resputtefing by energetic oxygen anions in the growing process.

EFFECT OF Ar PRESSURE ON STRUCTURAL AND ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES OF Cu FILMS DEPOSITED ON GLASS BY DC MAGNETRON SPUTTERING

Cu films with thickness of 630-1300nm were deposited on glass substrates without heating by DC magnetron sputtering in pure Ar gas. Ar pressure was controlled to 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5Pa respectively. The target voltage was fixed at 500V but the target current increased from 200 to 1150mA with Ar pressure increasing. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy were used to observe the structural characterization of the films. The resistivity of the films was measured using four-point probe technique. At all the Ar pressures, the Cu films have mixture crystalline orientations of [111], [200] and [220] in the direction of the film growth. The film deposited at lower pressure shows more [111] orientation while that deposited at higher pressure has more [220] orientation. The amount of larger grains in the film prepared at 0.5Pa Ar pressure is slightly less than that prepared at 1.0Pa and 1.5Pa Ar pressures. The resistivities of the films prepared at three different Ar pressures represent few differences, about 3-4 times of that of bulk material. Besides the deposition rate increases with Ar pressure because of the increase in target current. The contribution of the bombardment of energetic reflected Argon atoms to these phenomena is discussed.

Fabrication of ZnO films by radio frequency magnetron sputtering and annealing

ZnO thin films were deposited on Si（111） substrates through a radio frequency （rf） magnetron sputtering system. Then the samples were annealed at different temperatures in air ambience and ammonia ambience respectively. The structure and composition of the ZnO films were studied by X-ray diffraction （XRD） and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS）. The morphology of the samples was studied by scanning electron microscopy （SEM）. Measured results show that ZnO films with hexagonal wurtzite structure were grown on Si（111） substrates when annealed in the two ambiences. The volatilization process of ZnO in the ammonia ambience at high temperature was discussed and the mechanism of the reaction was analyzed.

Properties of doped ZnO transparent conductive thin films deposited by RF magnetron sputtering using a series of high quality ceramic targets

To obtain high transmittance and low resistivity ZnO transparent conductive thin films,a series of ZnO ceramic targets（ZnO：Al,ZnO：（Al,Dy）,ZnO：（Al,Gd）,ZnO：（Al,Zr）,ZnO：（Al,Nb）,and ZnO：（Al,W）） were fabricated and used to deposit thin films onto glass substrates by radio frequency（RF） magnetron sputtering.X-ray diffraction（XRD） analysis shows that the films are polycrystalline fitting well with hexagonal wurtzite structure and have a preferred orientation of the（002） plane.The transmittance of above 86% as well as the lowest resistivity of 8.43 × 10^-3 Ω·cm was obtained.

Surface oxidation of vanadium dioxide films prepared by radio frequency magnetron sputtering

This paper reports that the thermochromic vanadium dioxide films were deposited on various transparent substrates by radio frequency magnetron sputtering, and then aged under circumstance for years. Samples were characterized with several different techniques such as x-ray diffraction, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Raman, when they were fresh from sputter chamber and aged after years, respectively, in order to determine their structure and composition. It finds that a small amount of sodium occurred on the surface of vanadium dioxide films, which was probably due to sodium ion diffusion from soda-lime glass when sputtering was performed at high substrate temperature. It also finds that aging for years significantly affected the nonstoichiometry of vanadium dioxide films, thus inducing much change in Raman modes.

Influence of Microwave Power on the Properties of Hydrogenated Diamond-Like Carbon Films Prepared by ECR Plasma Enhanced DC Magnetron Sputtering

Electron cyclotron resonance （ECR） plasma was applied to enhance the direct current magnetron sputtering to prepare hydrogenated diamond-like carbon （H-DLC） films. For different microwave powers, both argon and hydrogen gas are introduced separately as the ECR working gas to investigate the influence of microwave power on the microstructure and electrical property of the H-DLC films deposited on P-type silicon substrates. A series of characterization methods including the Raman spectrum and atomic force microscopy are used. Results show that, within a certain range, the increase in microwave power affects the properties of the thin films, namely the sp3 ratio, the hardness, the nanoparticle size and the resistivity all increase while the roughness decreases with the increase in microwave power. The maximum of resistivity amounts to 1.1×10^9 Ω.cm. At the same time it is found that the influence of microwave power on the properties of H-DLC films is more pronounced when argon gas is applied as the ECR working gas, compared to hydrogen gas.

Microstructure and Oxidation Resistance of V Thin Films Deposited by Magnetron Sputtering at Room Temperature

Vanadium films were deposited on Si(100)substrates at room temperature by direct current(DC)magnetron sputtering.The microstructure and surface morphology were studied using scanning electron microscopy(SEM)and atomic force microscope(AFM).The oxidation resistance of films in air was studied using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS)and transmission electron microscopy(TEM).The results showed that the amorphous vanadium film with a flatter surface had higher oxidation resistance than the crystalline film when exposed to atmosphere.The rapid formation of the thin oxide layer of amorphous vanadium film could protect the film from sustained oxidation,and the relative reasons were discussed.

Photocatalytic Property of TiO2 Films Deposited by Pulsed DC Magnetron Sputtering

TiO2 thin films were prepared by DC magnetron sputtering with the oxygen flow rate higher than the threshold. The film deposited for 5 h was of anatase phase with a preferred orientation along the <220> direction, but the films deposited for 2 and 3 h were amorphous. The transmittance and photocatalytic activity of the TiO2 films increased constantly with increasing film thickness. When the annealing temperature was lower than 700℃, only anatase grew in the TiO2 film. TiO2 phase changed from anatase to rutile when the annealing temperature was above 800℃. The photocatalytic activity decreased with increasing annealing temperature.

MICROSTRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES OF ANNEALED ZnO THIN FILMS DEPOSITED BY MAGNETRON SPUTTERING

ZnO thin films were deposited on a glass substrate by dc (direct current) and rf (radio frequency) magnetron sputtering. Post-deposition annealing was performed in different atmospheres and at different temperatures. The correlation of the annealing conditions with the microstructure and properties of the ZnO films wer e investigated by ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, conductiv ity measurement and scanning electron microscopy. Only the strong 002 peak could be observed by X-ray diffraction. The post-deposition annealing of ZnO films wa s found to alter the film's microstructure and properties, including crystallini ty, porosity, grain size, internal stress level and resistivity. It was also fou nd that after annealing, the conductivity of poorly conductive samples often imp roved. However, annealing does not improve the conductivity of samples with high conductivity prior to annealing. The resistivity of as-grown films can be decre ased from 102 to 10-4Ω·cm after annealing in nitrogen. To explain the effects of annealing on the conductivity of ZnO, it is believed that annealing may alter the presence and distribution of oxygen defects, reduce the lattice stress, cau se diffusion, grain coarsening and recrystallization. Annealing will reduce the density of grain boundaries in less dense films, which may decrease the resistiv ity of the films. On the other hand, annealing may also increase the porosity of thin films, leading to an increase in resistivity.

Structures and optical properties of tungsten oxide thin films deposited by magnetron sputtering of WO_3 bulk:Effects of annealing temperatures

Tungsten oxide thin films were deposited on glass substrates by the magnetron sputtering of WO3 bulk at room temperature. The deposited films were annealed at different temperatures in air. The structural measurements indicate that the films annealed below 300℃ were amorphous, while the films annealed at 400 ℃ were mixed crystalline with hexagonal and triclinic phases of WO3. It was observed that the crystallization of the annealed films becomes more and more distinct with an increase in the annealing temperature. At 400 ℃, nanorod-like structures were observed on the film surface when the annealing time was increased from 60 min to 180 min. The presence of W=O stretching, W-O-W stretching, W-O-W bending and various lattice vibration modes were observed in Raman measurements. The optical absorption behaviors of the films in the range of 450-800 nm are very different with changing annealing temperatures from the room temperature to 400 ℃. After annealing at 400 ℃, the film becomes almost transparent. Increasing annealing time at 400 ℃ can lead to a small blue shift of the optical gap of the film.

Effects of Annealing Temperature on the Properties of Copper Films Prepared by Magnetron Sputtering

Copper oxide thin films were prepared by a direct-current magnetron sputtering method followed by a thermal annealing treatment at 100-500 ℃. The obtained films were characterized by X-ray diffraction, UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. With the increase of the annealing temperature, it was found that the films transformed sequentially from amorphous to single-phase Cu （100℃）, mixed-phase of Cu and Cu2O （150 ℃）, single-phase Cu2O （200 ℃）, then to mixed-phase of Cu2O and CuO （300 ℃）, and finally to single-phase CuO （400 - 500 ℃）. Further analyses indicated that the Cu/Cu2O thin films and the Cu：O thin films presented no further oxidation even on the surface in air atmosphere. Additionally, the visible-light photocatalytic behavior of the copper oxide thin films on the degradation of methylene blue （MB） was also investigated, indicating that the films with pure Cu2O phase or Cu/Cu2O mixed phases have excellent photocatalytic efficiencies.

Photoluminescence properties of ZnO thin films prepared by DC magnetron sputtering

ZnO thin films were prepared by direct current(DC)reactive magnetron sputtering under different oxygen partial pressures.And then the samples were annealed in vacuum at 450℃.The effects of the oxygen partial pressures and the treatment of annealing in vacuum on the photoluminescence and the concentration of six intrinsic defects in ZnO thin films such as oxygen vacancy(VO),zinc vacancy(VZn),antisite oxygen(OZn),antisite zinc(ZnO),interstitial oxygen(Oi)and interstitial zinc(Zni)were studied.The results show that a green photoluminescence peak at 520 nm can be observed in all the samples,whose intensity increases with increasing oxygen partial pressure;for the sample annealed in vacuum,the intensity of the green peak increases as well.The green photoluminescence peak observed in ZnO may be attributed to zinc vacancy,which probably originates from transitions between electrons in the conduction band and zinc vacancy levels,or from transitions between electrons in zinc vacancy levels and up valence band.

Cu Films Deposited by Unbalanced Magnetron Sputtering Enhanced by ICP and External Magnetic Field Confinement

Metallic copper（Cu） films were deposited on a Si （100） substrate by unbalanced magnetron sputtering enhanced by radio-frequency plasma and external magnetic field confinement. The morphology and structure of the films were examined by scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, atomic force microscope （AFM） and X-ray diffraction （XRD）. The surface average roughness of the deposited Cu films was characterized by AFM data and resistivity was measured by a four-point probe. The results show that the Cu films deposited with radio-frequency discharge enhanced ionization and external magnetic field confinement have a smooth surface, low surface roughness and low resistivity. The reasons may be that the radio-frequency discharge and external magnetic field enhance the plasma density, which further improves the ion bombardment effect under the same bias voltage conditions. Ion bombardment can obviously influence the growth features and characteristics of the deposited Cu films.