Abstract
Two types of aluminium nitride thin films were prepared on silicon substrates by ion beam assisted deposition; one had columnar microstructure and the other granular microstructure. Surface oxidation was performed on both films by annealing them at 900°C for 5–120 min and the effect of film microstructure on oxidation behaviour was studied. X-ray diffraction studies showed that aluminium oxynitride phase was formed in granular films after annealing for 60 min, whilst this oxidised phase was hardly observed in columnar films. Depth analysis by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed that oxygen diffusion occurred more readily in the granular microstructure than in the columnar. Observations using an atomic force microscope indicated that the surface average roughness increased with annealing time. It was therefore concluded that granular AlN films can be more easily oxidised than columnar films.
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