Paper TF-TuP13
Fabrication of Silver Oxide Films using Reactive Bias Sputter-Deposition

Tuesday, October 16, 2007, 6:00 pm, Room 4C

Silver suboxide (Ag₂O) is known to be a p-type semiconductor with a narrow band gap (1.2 eV). Lower temperature processes are needed to form the oxide films because the oxide is reduced by heat-treatment over 200 ^oC by dissociating the oxygen. This report describes fabrication of silver oxide films at lower temperatures using a reactive sputtering system by applying a substrate bias voltage (V_s). According to XRD analyses, silver films have been deposited by bias free sputtering with a lower oxygen partial pressure while AgO films have been fabricated with a high oxygen partial pressure. In the lower oxygen partial pressure environment, applying a substrate bias made silver react to oxidize such that Ag₂O₃ and Ag₂O films were fabricated by applying a V_s = 20 V, and Ag₂O₃ being formed at V_s = 40 V. Ag₂O₃ films showed very high resistivity. Ag₂O films showing p-type characteristics and lower resistivity were fabricated at V_s = 40 V after bias free sputter-deposition, that is, combining with and without substrate bias resulted in the fabrication of Ag₂O. The negative oxygen ions accelerated by the substrate bias can contribute to fabricate silver oxide in the lower oxygen partial pressure environment.