AVS 51st International Symposium
    Advanced Surface Engineering Monday Sessions
       Session SE-MoA

Paper SE-MoA7
Stress Reduction in Sputter Deposited Tungsten Films Using Nanostructured Compliant Layers by High Working-Gas Pressures

Monday, November 15, 2004, 4:00 pm, Room 303D

Session: Structure Control of Hard Coatings in Sputtering Processes
Presenter: T. Karabacak, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Authors: T. Karabacak, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
J.J. Senkevich, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
G.-C. Wang, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
T.-M. Lu, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Correspondent: Click to Email
We present a new strategy of stress reduction in sputter deposited films by a nano-compliant layer at the substrate using physically self-assembled nanostructures obtained at high working-gas pressures prior to the deposition of a continuous film. This technique is all in-situ, and the nanostructures are made of the same material as the deposited thin film and requires no lithography process. This nanostructured layer has a lower material density and can act as a compliant layer to reduce the stress of the subsequently deposited continuous film grown under low gas pressure. By using this approach we were able to reduce stress values significantly in sputter deposited tungsten films and the strategy of alternating high and low Ar gas pressures leads to the growth of much thicker films without delamination.