AVS 46th International Symposium
    Thin Films Division Monday Sessions
       Session TF-MoP

Paper TF-MoP11
Origin of Electrical Property Distribution on Surface of ZnO:Al Films Prepared by Magnetron Sputtering

Monday, October 25, 1999, 5:30 pm, Room 4C

Session: Poster Session
Presenter: T. Minami, Kanazawa Institute of Technology, Japan
Authors: T. Minami, Kanazawa Institute of Technology, Japan
T. Miyata, Kanazawa Institute of Technology, Japan
T. Yamamoto, Kanazawa Institute of Technology, Japan
T. Nishitani, Kanazawa Institute of Technology, Japan
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This paper investigates the origin of electrical property distribution on the substrate surface of ZnO:Al films prepared by magnetron sputtering on substrates placed parallel to the target surface. The films were prepared using a magnetron sputtering apparatus with a sintered or powder target (diameter of 140mm) and either a dc or rf plasma power source. When the films were prepared on substrates at the same temperature with the same deposition rate under optimized sputter deposition and target preparation conditions, the lowest obtained resistivity found in ZnO:Al films prepared by either dc or rf magnetron sputtering was roughly the same. However, the ZnO:Al films prepared by dc sputtering exhibited a larger increase of resistivity at locations on the substrate corresponding to the target erosion area than found in films prepared by rf sputtering. In contrast, the resistivity distribution of ZnO:Al films prepared by rf magnetron sputtering with an applied external magnetic field which focused the rf plasma was similar to that of films prepared by dc magnetron sputtering. Thus, the difference in electrical property distribution obtained between rf and dc magnetron sputtering is mainly related to the activity and amount of oxygen reaching the substrate surface as well as its spatial distribution.