AVS 47th International Symposium
    Thin Films Tuesday Sessions
       Session TF-TuP

Paper TF-TuP6
Study on Indium Nitride Films Deposited by DC Magnetron Sputtering

Tuesday, October 3, 2000, 5:30 pm, Room Exhibit Hall C & D

Session: Poster Session
Presenter: P.K. Song, Aoyama Gakuin University, Japan
Authors: P.K. Song, Aoyama Gakuin University, Japan
D. Sato, Aoyama Gakuin University, Japan
N. Ito, Aoyama Gakuin University, Japan
Y. Shigesato, Aoyama Gakuin University, Japan
Correspondent: Click to Email
The III-V nitride semiconductors with a wurtzite structure such as aluminum nitride (AlN), gallium nitride (GaN), indium nitride (InN), have been investigated for various applications including optoelectronic devices because they have direct energy band gaps corresponding to wide wavelengths from the red to the ultraviolet. However, InN has received little attention compared with AlN or GaN, because its poor thermal stability and difficulties in depositions. In this study, InN films were successfully deposited on soda-lime glass at the substrate temperature T@sub s@=RT-400ï½°C by dc reactive magnetron sputtering using In metal target under various total gas pressure (P@sub tot@=0.5-3.0Pa) of mixture gases of Ar and N@sub 2@. Crystal structure and surface morphology of the films were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscope (AFM). Without substrate heating, a clear InN (002) XRD peak was observed for the films deposited at 0.5-3.0 Pa with N@sub 2@ gas flow ratio higher than 60%. With increasing P@sub tot@ from 0.5 to 3.0 Pa, degradation in the crystallinity of the films was clearly observed. Based on these results, two possible mechanisms are postulated. One is that the chemically active species generate by electron-impact dissociation of N@sub 2@ molecules could be increased with the decreasing P@sub tot@ and increasing electron temperature, which should result in the enhancement of the crystallization during reactive film growth. Another mechanism is that the crystallinity of the film is affected by the kinetic energy of sputtered In atoms arriving at substrate surface which could enhance surface migration of the In atoms and hence the crystallinity. The effects of increasing T@sub s@ on the film structure will also be discussed in detail.