Atomistic effects in reactive direct current sputter deposition
type: CreativeWork
description: The aim of this work is to gain a better understanding of the reactive sputtering process, with special emphasis on explanations from a microscopic point of view. Several steps were undertaken towards this end: An already existing deposition system was upgraded with new pressure gauges and a quadrupole mass analyzer to meet the new requirements for total and partial pressure determination. In consequence, it was possible to switch from the macroscopic parameter pressure to the average number of collisions. Thin films of zinc oxide and silver were deposited, and their properties were studied. These could be modified in two distinct ways: First, this was done by variation of the deposition conditions. This concept was applied to the deposition of zinc oxide films. A strong correlation between stress, surface roughness and texture of the films on one side and the total pressure during deposition on the other was observed. This behavior could be related to the impact of energetic oxygen atoms. In a second step, this assumption was verified by resputtering experiments, in which films were prepared on substrates facing away from the target. The difference in deposition rate between films prepared with and without a backing microscope slides decreased with increasing pressure. For sufficiently high pressure, the deposition rate of directly deposited films could be described by the Keller-Simmons relation. The films were rough with low stress and weak texture. In the low pressure range, films were smooth and exhibited high stresses and strong orientation. This pronounced texture was caused by selective etching of the growing film. The deposition rate was lower than expected from Keller-Simmons. At the same time, the resputtered atoms lead to an increased deposition rate of the indirectly deposited films. A completely different approach was used for the optimization of the conductivity of thin silver films. It could be shown that the sheet resistance of these films is strong…
abstract: The aim of this work is to gain a better understanding of the reactive sputtering process, with special emphasis on explanations from a microscopic point of view. Several steps were undertaken towards this end: An already existing deposition system was upgraded with new pressure gauges and a quadrupole mass analyzer to meet the new requirements for total and partial pressure determination. In consequence, it was possible to switch from the macroscopic parameter pressure to the average number of collisions. Thin films of zinc oxide and silver were deposited, and their properties were studied. These could be modified in two distinct ways: First, this was done by variation of the deposition conditions. This concept was applied to the deposition of zinc oxide films. A strong correlation between stress, surface roughness and texture of the films on one side and the total pressure during deposition on the other was observed. This behavior could be related to the impact of energetic oxygen atoms. In a second step, this assumption was verified by resputtering experiments, in which films were prepared on substrates facing away from the target. The difference in deposition rate between films prepared with and without a backing microscope slides decreased with increasing pressure. For sufficiently high pressure, the deposition rate of directly deposited films could be described by the Keller-Simmons relation. The films were rough with low stress and weak texture. In the low pressure range, films were smooth and exhibited high stresses and strong orientation. This pronounced texture was caused by selective etching of the growing film. The deposition rate was lower than expected from Keller-Simmons. At the same time, the resputtered atoms lead to an increased deposition rate of the indirectly deposited films. A completely different approach was used for the optimization of the conductivity of thin silver films. It could be shown that the sheet resistance of these films is strong…
author: Kappertz, Oliver
language: eng
keywords: info:eu-repo/classification/ddc/530, Zinkoxid, Schichtwachstum, Magnetronsputtern, Physik, sputter deposition, zinc oxide, modelling
date published: 2004
date modified: 2026-07-30T19:42:39Z
provider: RWTH Aachen University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Publikationsserver der RWTH Aachen University