Variation of Structural and Surface Properties of RF Sputtered Aluminum Oxide (Al2O3) Thin Films Due to the Influence of Annealing Temperature and Time

Lim Wei Qiang; Mutharasu Devarajan

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijmsa.20140306.29

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Variation of Structural and Surface Properties of RF Sputtered Aluminum Oxide (Al2O3) Thin Films Due to the Influence of Annealing Temperature and Time

Lim Wei Qiang, Mutharasu Devarajan

Published in International Journal of Materials Science and Applications (Volume 3, Issue 6)

Received: 5 November 2014 Accepted: 21 November 2014 Published: 18 December 2014

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Abstract

Aluminum oxide (Al2O3) thin films were deposited on Si (111) substrates by using RF magnetron sputtering of Al2O3 target in Ar atmosphere. The synthesized films were annealed in the temperature range of 200 to 600°C in nitrogen (N2) environment for 2 and 4 hours. Variations in these structural and surface properties of the films were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscope (AFM). XRD analysis reveals that the synthesized films are in polycrystalline form with preferential orientation along (111) plane. By increasing the annealing temperature, the crystallite size of films was found to increase, whereas the micro-strain and dislocation density were decreased. The decrease in micro-strain and dislocation density was ascribed to the reduction in the lattice strain. The surface roughness of the films was increased with the increase of the annealing temperature, which was attributed to the films’ grains growth and also with the increase in RF sputtering power.

Published in	International Journal of Materials Science and Applications (Volume 3, Issue 6)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijmsa.20140306.29
Page(s)	404-409
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2014. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

RF Sputtering, Aluminium Oxide, Thin Film

References

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APA Style

Lim Wei Qiang, Mutharasu Devarajan. (2014). Variation of Structural and Surface Properties of RF Sputtered Aluminum Oxide (Al2O3) Thin Films Due to the Influence of Annealing Temperature and Time. International Journal of Materials Science and Applications, 3(6), 404-409. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijmsa.20140306.29

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ACS Style

Lim Wei Qiang; Mutharasu Devarajan. Variation of Structural and Surface Properties of RF Sputtered Aluminum Oxide (Al2O3) Thin Films Due to the Influence of Annealing Temperature and Time. Int. J. Mater. Sci. Appl. 2014, 3(6), 404-409. doi: 10.11648/j.ijmsa.20140306.29

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AMA Style

Lim Wei Qiang, Mutharasu Devarajan. Variation of Structural and Surface Properties of RF Sputtered Aluminum Oxide (Al2O3) Thin Films Due to the Influence of Annealing Temperature and Time. Int J Mater Sci Appl. 2014;3(6):404-409. doi: 10.11648/j.ijmsa.20140306.29

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@article{10.11648/j.ijmsa.20140306.29,
  author = {Lim Wei Qiang and Mutharasu Devarajan},
  title = {Variation of Structural and Surface Properties of RF Sputtered Aluminum Oxide (Al2O3) Thin Films Due to the Influence of Annealing Temperature and Time},
  journal = {International Journal of Materials Science and Applications},
  volume = {3},
  number = {6},
  pages = {404-409},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijmsa.20140306.29},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijmsa.20140306.29},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijmsa.20140306.29},
  abstract = {Aluminum oxide (Al2O3) thin films were deposited on Si (111) substrates by using RF magnetron sputtering of Al2O3 target in Ar atmosphere. The synthesized films were annealed in the temperature range of 200 to 600°C in nitrogen (N2) environment for 2 and 4 hours. Variations in these structural and surface properties of the films were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscope (AFM). XRD analysis reveals that the synthesized films are in polycrystalline form with preferential orientation along (111) plane. By increasing the annealing temperature, the crystallite size of films was found to increase, whereas the micro-strain and dislocation density were decreased. The decrease in micro-strain and dislocation density was ascribed to the reduction in the lattice strain. The surface roughness of the films was increased with the increase of the annealing temperature, which was attributed to the films’ grains growth and also with the increase in RF sputtering power.},
 year = {2014}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Variation of Structural and Surface Properties of RF Sputtered Aluminum Oxide (Al2O3) Thin Films Due to the Influence of Annealing Temperature and Time
AU  - Lim Wei Qiang
AU  - Mutharasu Devarajan
Y1  - 2014/12/18
PY  - 2014
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijmsa.20140306.29
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijmsa.20140306.29
T2  - International Journal of Materials Science and Applications
JF  - International Journal of Materials Science and Applications
JO  - International Journal of Materials Science and Applications
SP  - 404
EP  - 409
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2327-2643
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijmsa.20140306.29
AB  - Aluminum oxide (Al2O3) thin films were deposited on Si (111) substrates by using RF magnetron sputtering of Al2O3 target in Ar atmosphere. The synthesized films were annealed in the temperature range of 200 to 600°C in nitrogen (N2) environment for 2 and 4 hours. Variations in these structural and surface properties of the films were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscope (AFM). XRD analysis reveals that the synthesized films are in polycrystalline form with preferential orientation along (111) plane. By increasing the annealing temperature, the crystallite size of films was found to increase, whereas the micro-strain and dislocation density were decreased. The decrease in micro-strain and dislocation density was ascribed to the reduction in the lattice strain. The surface roughness of the films was increased with the increase of the annealing temperature, which was attributed to the films’ grains growth and also with the increase in RF sputtering power.
VL  - 3
IS  - 6
ER  -

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Author Information

Lim Wei Qiang

Nano Optoelectronics and Research Laboratory, School of Physics, University Sains Malaysia (USM), 11800, Minden, Penang, Malaysia
Mutharasu Devarajan

Nano Optoelectronics and Research Laboratory, School of Physics, University Sains Malaysia (USM), 11800, Minden, Penang, Malaysia

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Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Lim Wei Qiang, Mutharasu Devarajan. (2014). Variation of Structural and Surface Properties of RF Sputtered Aluminum Oxide (Al2O3) Thin Films Due to the Influence of Annealing Temperature and Time. International Journal of Materials Science and Applications, 3(6), 404-409. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijmsa.20140306.29

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ACS Style

Lim Wei Qiang; Mutharasu Devarajan. Variation of Structural and Surface Properties of RF Sputtered Aluminum Oxide (Al2O3) Thin Films Due to the Influence of Annealing Temperature and Time. Int. J. Mater. Sci. Appl. 2014, 3(6), 404-409. doi: 10.11648/j.ijmsa.20140306.29

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AMA Style

Lim Wei Qiang, Mutharasu Devarajan. Variation of Structural and Surface Properties of RF Sputtered Aluminum Oxide (Al2O3) Thin Films Due to the Influence of Annealing Temperature and Time. Int J Mater Sci Appl. 2014;3(6):404-409. doi: 10.11648/j.ijmsa.20140306.29

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ijmsa.20140306.29,
  author = {Lim Wei Qiang and Mutharasu Devarajan},
  title = {Variation of Structural and Surface Properties of RF Sputtered Aluminum Oxide (Al2O3) Thin Films Due to the Influence of Annealing Temperature and Time},
  journal = {International Journal of Materials Science and Applications},
  volume = {3},
  number = {6},
  pages = {404-409},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijmsa.20140306.29},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijmsa.20140306.29},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijmsa.20140306.29},
  abstract = {Aluminum oxide (Al2O3) thin films were deposited on Si (111) substrates by using RF magnetron sputtering of Al2O3 target in Ar atmosphere. The synthesized films were annealed in the temperature range of 200 to 600°C in nitrogen (N2) environment for 2 and 4 hours. Variations in these structural and surface properties of the films were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscope (AFM). XRD analysis reveals that the synthesized films are in polycrystalline form with preferential orientation along (111) plane. By increasing the annealing temperature, the crystallite size of films was found to increase, whereas the micro-strain and dislocation density were decreased. The decrease in micro-strain and dislocation density was ascribed to the reduction in the lattice strain. The surface roughness of the films was increased with the increase of the annealing temperature, which was attributed to the films’ grains growth and also with the increase in RF sputtering power.},
 year = {2014}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Variation of Structural and Surface Properties of RF Sputtered Aluminum Oxide (Al2O3) Thin Films Due to the Influence of Annealing Temperature and Time
AU  - Lim Wei Qiang
AU  - Mutharasu Devarajan
Y1  - 2014/12/18
PY  - 2014
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijmsa.20140306.29
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijmsa.20140306.29
T2  - International Journal of Materials Science and Applications
JF  - International Journal of Materials Science and Applications
JO  - International Journal of Materials Science and Applications
SP  - 404
EP  - 409
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2327-2643
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijmsa.20140306.29
AB  - Aluminum oxide (Al2O3) thin films were deposited on Si (111) substrates by using RF magnetron sputtering of Al2O3 target in Ar atmosphere. The synthesized films were annealed in the temperature range of 200 to 600°C in nitrogen (N2) environment for 2 and 4 hours. Variations in these structural and surface properties of the films were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscope (AFM). XRD analysis reveals that the synthesized films are in polycrystalline form with preferential orientation along (111) plane. By increasing the annealing temperature, the crystallite size of films was found to increase, whereas the micro-strain and dislocation density were decreased. The decrease in micro-strain and dislocation density was ascribed to the reduction in the lattice strain. The surface roughness of the films was increased with the increase of the annealing temperature, which was attributed to the films’ grains growth and also with the increase in RF sputtering power.
VL  - 3
IS  - 6
ER  -

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