AVS 51st International Symposium
    Thin Films Monday Sessions
       Session TF-MoP

Paper TF-MoP6
Target Surface Oxide Layer Formed by Reactive Sputtering of Ti Target in Ar+O@sub 2@ Mixed Gas

Monday, November 15, 2004, 5:00 pm, Room Exhibit Hall B

Session: Poster Session
Presenter: Y. Abe, Kitami Institute of Technology, Japan
Authors: Y. Abe, Kitami Institute of Technology, Japan
K. Takamura, Kitami Institute of Technology, Japan
M. Kawamura, Kitami Institute of Technology, Japan
K. Sasaki, Kitami Institute of Technology, Japan
Correspondent: Click to Email
Reactive sputtering is a useful method for preparing compound thin films by sputtering metal targets in active gas atmosphere. The surface state of the metal target changes with sputtering conditions and makes important effects on deposition rate, chemical composition of the thin films, and plasma state, however, quantitative studies on the surface state of the target were scarce. In this study, TiO@sub 2@ films were deposited by reactively sputtering a 2-inch diam. Ti target in a mixed gas of Ar and O@sub 2@ using a planar RF magnetron sputtering system. Ti model target, a 1 µmm-thick Ti film sputter-deposited on the surface of a Si wafer, was used as a sputtering target for an experiment on target oxidation. The thickness of the oxide-layer formed at the surface of the model target was measured by ellipsometry. Effects of oxygen flow ratio and RF power on the surface oxide-layer-thickness were studied. The oxide layer formed at the surface of the Ti model target was confirmed to be TiO@sub 2@. The measured oxide-layer-thickness increased with increasing oxygen flow ratio, however, the maximum oxide-layer-thickness formed by sputtering in 100% O@sub 2@ gas was only several nano meters. No appreciable dependence on RF power and the position at the surface of the target was observed. However, methods of target cooling influenced the surface-oxide-thickness, which indicates that the oxide-layer-thickness increases with increasing target temperature.