In this work, amorphous thin films in Mg-Si-O-N system were prepared in order to investigate the dependence of optical and mechanical properties on Mg composition. Reactive RF magnetron co-sputtering from magnesium and silicon targets were used for the deposition of Mg-Si-O-N thin films. Films were deposited on float glass, silica wafers and sapphire substrates in an Ar, N2 and O2 gas mixture. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, spectroscopic ellipsometry, and nanoindentation were employed to characterize the composition, surface morphology, and properties of the films.
Copper deposition has been carried out at various time span on glass slide and silicon substrate by using indigenously developed unbalanced type DC magnetron sputtering system. The main objective of this work is to study the crystalline structure of the deposited materials and also to calculate the crystallite grain size. As a transition metal, Copper nano-particles and structures have several utilities in the field of photo-catalytic and sensor applications. Such structures are utilized to provide free electrons that enhance optical and electrical properties of the photo-catalytic sensor mate…
Magnetron sputtering is a perfect technique for processing nanomaterials for engineering and medical applications. A material can be processed with specific mechanical properties, microstructure, and surface texture by controlling the parameters of magnetron sputtering. Therefore, studies should be conducted on investigating the processing conditions on the performance of nanomaterials processed by magnetron sputtering. In this study, effects of the processing force on performance of micro/nano-resonators produced by magnetron sputtering are revealed. The processing force is defined as the rat…
Two dimensional materials are an emerging class of materials which is transforming the present day research activity on a phenomenal scale. Hexagonal boron nitride is a wide band gap 2D material which is an excellent substrate for graphene based electronics. To achieve the full potential of hBN scalable and high yield growth procedures are required. Here, we demonstrate the synthesis of hBN by reactive R.F magnetron sputtering over copper foil. Copper foil preparation conditions determines the phase selectivity of BN films. Deposition of hBN on non-electropolished Cu foils with predominant (10…
The effect of applying a positive voltage pulse (Urev = 10 - 150 V) directly after the negative high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) pulse (bipolar HiPIMS) is investigated for the reactive sputter deposition of TiN thin films. Energy-resolved mass spectroscopy analyses are performed to gain insight in the effect on the ion energy distribution function of the various ions. It is demonstrated that the energy of a large fraction of the ions can be tuned by a reverse target potential and gain energy corresponding to the applied Urev. Microscopy observations and x-ray reflectometry reve…
Target temperature in magnetron sputtering systems is a significant parameter which not only affects the physical and chemical properties of the deposited film but also stimulates the reactive sputtering process. Therefore, it is of great interest to establish a relationship between the target temperature and other parameters of magnetron sputtering process such as the gas pressure and the discharge power. This paper is devoted to the experimental and numerical studies on titanium target temperature in Argon medium. Numerical simulations for the target temperature are performed by solving the …
Three-dimensional (3D) topological insulators (TIs) are candidate materials for various electronic and spintronic devices due to their strong spin-orbit coupling and unique surface electronic structure. Rapid, low-cost preparation of large-area TI thin films compatible with conventional semiconductor technology is key to the practical applications of TIs. Here, we show that wafer-sized Bi2Te3 family TI and magnetic TI films with decent quality and well-controlled composition and properties can be prepared on amorphous SiO2/Si substrates by magnetron cosputtering. The SiO2/Si substrates enable …
Magnetron sputtering is a widely used physical vapor deposition technique. Reactive sputtering is used for the deposition of, e.g, oxides, nitrides and carbides. In fundamental research, versatility is essential when designing or upgrading a deposition chamber. Furthermore, automated deposition systems are the norm in industrial production, but relatively uncommon in laboratory-scale systems used primarily for fundamental research. Combining automatization and computerized control with the required versatility for fundamental research constitutes a challenge in designing, developing, and upgra…
Solution-based methods represent the most widespread approach used to deposit hybrid organic-inorganic perovskite films for low-cost but efficient solar cells. However, solution-process techniques offer limited control over film morphology and crystallinity, and most importantly do not allow sequential film deposition to produce perovskite-perovskite heterostructures. Here the successful deposition of CH3NH3PbI3 (MAPI) thin films by RF-magnetron sputtering is reported, an industry-tested method to grow large area devices with precisely controlled stoichiometry. MAPI films are grown starting fr…
We report the influence of the AlN interlayer thickness (0-15 nm) on the photovoltaic properties of Al0.37In0.63N on Si heterojunction solar cells deposited by radio frequency sputtering. The poor junction band alignment and the presence of a 2-3 nm thick amorphous layer at the interface mitigates the response in devices fabricated by direct deposition of n-AlInN on p-Si(111). Adding a 4-nm-thick AlN buffer layer improves the AlInN crystalline quality and the interface alignment leading to devices with a conversion efficiency of 1.5% under 1-sun AM1.5G illumination. For thicker buffers the per…
Superconducting Nb3Sn films were fabricated on sapphire and fine grain Nb substrates by magnetron sputtering from a single stoichiometric Nb3Sn target. The structural, morphological and superconducting properties of the films annealed for 24 h at temperatures of 800-1000 °C were investigated. The effect of the annealing time at 1000 °C was examined for 1, 12, and 24 h. The film properties were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. The DC superconducting properties of the films wer…
Zinc-iridium oxide (Zn-Ir-O) thin films have been demonstrated as a p-type conducting material. However, the stability of p-type conductivity with respect to chemical composition or temperature is still unclear. In this study we discuss the local atomic structure and the electrical properties of Zn-Ir-O films in the large Ir concentration range. The films are deposited by reactive DC magnetron co-sputtering at two different substrate temperatures-without intentional heating and at 300 °C. Extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) analysis reveals that strongly disordered ZnO4 tetrahedra…
We apply the Ionization Region Model (IRM) and the Orsay Boltzmann equation for ELectrons coupled with Ionization and eXcited states kinetics (OBELIX) model to study the electron kinetics of a high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) discharge. In the IRM the bulk (cold) electrons are assumed to exhibit a Maxwellian energy distribution and the secondary (hot) electrons, emitted from the target surface upon ion bombardment, are treated as a high energy tail, while in the OBELIX the electron energy distribution is calculated self-consistently using an isotropic Boltzmann equation. The tw…
Potentially superhard $W_{1-x}Zr_xB_2$ polymorph hP6-P6$_3$/mmc-$WB_2$ with zirconium doping in the range of x=0.0-0.25 was thoroughly analyzed within the framework of first-principles density functional theory from the structural and mechanical point of view. The obtained results were subsequently compared with properties of material deposited by magnetron sputtering method. All predicted structures are mechanically and thermodynamically stable. Due to theoretical calculations zirconium doping reduces hardness and fracture toughness $K_{IC}$ of $WB_2$. Deposited films are characterized by gre…
Here, we compare the material quality of AlxIn1-xN layers deposited on Si with different crystallographic orientations, (100) and (111), via radio-frequency (RF) sputtering. To modulate their Al content, the Al RF power was varied from 0 to 225 W, whereas the In RF power and deposition temperature were fixed at 30 W and 300oC, respectively. X-ray diffraction measurements reveal a c-axis-oriented wurtzite structure with no phase separation regardless of the Al content (x = 0-0.50), which increases with the Al power supply. The surface morphology of the AlxIn1-xN layers improves with increasing …
In this work, the electrical properties of Al2O3 films deposited by reactive ion sputtering were investigated by means of morphological, chemical and electrical characterizations. This insulating layer suffers of an electron trapping that is mitigated after the rapid thermal annealing (RTA). The RTA improved also the permittivity (up to 6ε0), although the negative fixed charge remains in the order of 1012cm-2. However, the temperature dependent electrical investigation of the MOS capacitors demonstrates that the room temperature Fowler-Nordheim electron barrier height of 2.37 eV lies between t…
Amorphous boron carbide (B4C) thin films are by far the most popular form for the neutron converting layers in the 10B-based neutron detectors, which are a rising trend in detector technologies in response to the increasing scarcity and price of 3He, the standard material for neutron detection. The microstructure of the B4C films is closely related to the important properties, e.g. density and adhesion, for the converting layers, which eventually affect the detection efficiency and the long-term stability of the detectors. To study the influence from substrates of different roughness and mater…
Bismuth and Nickel transparent oxides thin films were grown on glass and flexible polythelene terephalate (PET) substrates by DC sputtering technique at room temperature 300 K. The structures of Bi2O3 and NiO films were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). A profilometry is used to measure the thicknesses of the ultrathin films. These values were established by a spectro-ellipsometry technique with a new amorphous dispersion model in the range of 200 nm to 2200 nm with one nm increment. In addition, the optical constants of these films were inves…
This paper reports on the deposition of amorphous and crystalline thin films of Ga2O3 by reactive pulsed direct current magnetron sputtering from a liquid gallium target onto fused (f-) quartz and c plane (c-) sapphire substrates, where the temperature of the substrate is varied from room temperature (RT) to 800°C. The deposition rate (up to 37 nm/min at RT on f-quartz and 5 nm/min at 800°C on c-sapphire) is two to five times higher than the data given in the literature for radio frequency sputtering. Deposited onto unheated substrates, the films are X-ray amorphous. Well-defined X-ray diffrac…
Transition metal nitrides have received significant interest for use within plasmonic and optoelectronic devices. However, deposition temperature remains a significant barrier to the integration of transition metal nitrides as plasmonic materials within CMOS fabrication processes. Binary, ternary and layered transition metal nitride thin films based on titanium and niobium nitride are deposited using High Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering (HIPIMS). The increased plasma densities achieved in the HIPIMS process allow high quality plasmonic thin films to be deposited at CMOS compatible temperatu…
Nb3Sn films were fabricated by multilayer sequential sputtering on Nb at substrate temperatures ranging from room temperature to 250 °C. The multilayers were then annealed inside a separate vacuum furnace at 950 °C for 3h. The films material properties were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The films superconducting properties were studied by four-point probe resistivity measurements from room temperature to below the superconducting critical temperature Tc. The …
