Orientation Control of Aluminum Nitride Thin Films Prepared by Mid-Frequency Magnetron Sputtering on Glass Substrates

Aluminum nitride (AlN) is a ceramic material with excellent performance, which is widely used in microelectronics, electronic components, high-frequency broadband communication, and power semiconductor devices, but some properties of AlN thin films exhibit significant anisotropy. Therefore, controlling the preferred orientation of AlN thin films has always been a concern for scientific researchers. In this paper, Aluminum nitride (AlN) thin films were prepared on glass substrates by mid-frequency reactive magnetron sputtering. The influence of the nitrogen partial pressure, the sputtering power and the substrate temperature on the crystal structure of the films were investigated. It is found that the condition for the preparation of AlN films with a preferred orientation is low pressure and a substrate temperature between 200−300℃. The most important factors that influence the preferred orientation of the AlN films are the nitrogen partial pressure in the circumstance and the particle energy deposited on the substrate. The results showed that lower nitrogen partial pressure and particle energy are preferable for (100)/(110) oriented growth, with (110) further preferred at lower energies, while higher nitrogen partial pressure and particle energy were beneficial to obtain (002) preferential growth films. The results are helpful in the preparation and application of AlN films on glass substrates.