AVS 49th International Symposium
    Thin Films Tuesday Sessions
       Session TF-TuM

Paper TF-TuM9
Carbon Incorporation in Boron Suboxide Thin Films

Tuesday, November 5, 2002, 11:00 am, Room C-101

Session: Mechanical Properties of Thin Films
Presenter: D. Music, Linköping University, Sweden
Authors: D. Music, Linköping University, Sweden
V.M. Kugler, Linköping University, Sweden
Zs. Czigány, Linköping University, Sweden
A. Flink, Linköping University, Sweden
O. Werner, Linköping University, Sweden
J.M. Schneider, RWTH-Aachen, Germany
L. Hultman, Linköping University, Sweden
U. Helmersson, Linköping University, Sweden
Correspondent: Click to Email
Boron suboxide thin films, with controlled carbon incorporation, were grown by RF dual magnetron sputtering of boron powder and sintered carbon targets in an argon-oxygen atmosphere. Film composition, structure, mechanical, and electrical properties were evaluated by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), nanoindentation, and high-frequency capacitance-voltage measurements, respectively. B-O-C films (O/B=0.02, carbon concentration <2.0 at.%), albeit x-ray amorphous, showed an increase in density from 2.0 to 2.4 g/cm@super 3@ as the carbon concentration was increased and the film with the highest density had nanocrystalline inclusions, as observed by TEM. All measured material properties were found to depend strongly on film density. The elastic modulus increased from 188 to 281 GPa with increasing film density, while the relative dielectric constant decreased from 19.2 to 0.9. Hence, B-O-C films show a potential for protective coatings and even for application in electronic devices.