Compositional and Structural Properties of TiO2-xNx Thin Films Deposited by Radio-Frequency Magnetron Sputtering

TiO2-xNx thin films are deposited onto Si（100） and quartz substrates by arf magnetron sputtering method using a titanium metal disc as a target in Ar, N2, and 02 atmospheres. The substrate temperature is kept at 300℃. The O2 and Ar gas flow rates are kept to be constants and the N gas flow rate is varied. TiO2-xNx films with different N contents are characterized by x-ray diffraction and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results indicate that the TiO2-xNx thin films can be obtained at 13% N and 15% N contents in the film, and the films with mixed TiO2 and TiN crystal can be obtained at 13% N and 15% N contents in the film. In terms of the results of x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, N ls of β-N （396 eV） is the main component in the TiO2-xNx thin films. Because the energy level of β-N is positioned above the valence-band maximum of TiO2, an effective optical-energy gap decreases from 2.8 eV （for pure TiO2 film deposited by the same rf sputtering system） to 2.3 eV, which is verified by the optical-absorption spectra.     

Growth-Parameter Spaces and Optical Properties of Cubic Boron Nitride Films on Si（001）

Cubic boron nitride （c-BN） films were deposited on Si（001） substrates in an ion beam assisted deposition （IBAD） system under various conditions, and the growth parameter spaces and optical properties of c-BN films have been investigated systematically. The results indicate that suitable ion bombardment is necessary for the growth of c-BN films, and a well defined parameter space can be established by using the P/a-parameter. The refractive index of BN films keeps a constant of 1.8 for the c-BN content lower than 50%, while for c-BN films with higher cubic phase the refractive index increases with the c-BN content from 1.8 at χc =50% to 2.1 at χc = 90%. Furthermore, the relationship between n and p for BN films can be described by the Anderson-Schreiber equation, and the overlap field parameter γ is determined to be 2.05.     

Exchange Coupling and Stability of SmCo7-xHfx

Electronic structure of SmCo7-xHfx compound is calculated by using the multi-scattering Xα method. It is shown that a few of electrons can transfer to the Sm 5d orbital due to orbital hybridization between Sm and Co atoms. The 3d-5d coupling is stronger, which is the main reason to result in the long-range ferromagnetic order between Sm and Co atoms in SmCo7-xHfx. According to the Stoner criterion, the result of spin-unpolarized calculation for the Sm5Co32Hf2 duster could lead to a better understanding of why the ferromagnetic SmCo7-xHfx is a stable phase. For the Sm5Co32Hf2 duster the Fermi level is situated at the overall maximum of the density of states. Moreover the duster wavefunctions at EF are antibonding and hence highly localized in real space, which would lead to a large value for the duster Stoner integral. Thus a rationalization for the magnetic stability of SmCo7-xHfx has been obtained.     

Sputtering pressure influence on growth morphology,surface roughness,and electrical resistivity for strong anisotropy beryllium film

The strong anisotropy beryllium （Be） films are fabricated at different sputtering pressures by direct current magnetron sputtering. With the increase of pressure, the deposition rate of Be film first increases, and when the pressure exceeds 0.8 Pa, it gradually descends. The X-ray diffraction analysis indicates that Be film is of α-Be phase, its surface always reveals the （101） crystal plane possessing the low surface energy. As for the growth morphology of Be film, the surface is mainly characterized by the fibrous grains, while the cross section shows a transition from a columnar grain to a mixed grain consisting of a cone-shaped grain and a columnar grain as the sputtering pressure increases. The large grain fraction decays exponentially from 75.0% to 59.3% with the increase of sputtering pressure p, which can improve the grain size uniformity. The surface roughness increases due to the insufficient atom diffusion, which is comparable to its decrease due to the etching effect at p 〈 0.8 Pa, while it increases drastically at p 〉 0.8 Pa, and this increase is dominated by the atom diffusion. The electrical resistivity values of Be films range from 1.7 μΩ m to 2.7 μΩ m in the range 0.4 Pa-1.2 Pa, which is 50 times larger than the bulk resistivity.     

Zr-Cu Amorphous Films Prepared by Magnetron Co-sputtering Deposition of Pure Zr and Cu

ZrxCu100-x amorphous films are prepared on Si （111） substrates by magnetron co-sputtering of pure Zr and Cu. It is found that the glass forming ability （GFA） of the films increases with x when x is in the range from 35 to 65 and with the best glass forming ability at x = 65. It is therefore different from the bulk counterparts, for which only x = 35 and 50 were reported to have high glass forming ability during casting. The structure of the films is sensitive to the substrate temperature and the sputtering argon pressure.     

Characteristics of Sn-Doped Ge2Sb2Te5 Films Used for Phase-Change Memory

Sn-doped Ge2Sb2Te5 thin films deposited on Si（100）/SiO2 substrates by rf magnetron sputtering are investigated by a differential scanning calorimeter, x-ray diffraction and sheet resistance measurement. The crystallization temperatures of the 3.58 at.%, 6.92 at.% and 10.04 at.% Sn-doped Ge2Sb2Te5 thin films have decreases of 5.3, 6.1 and 0.9℃, respectively, which is beneficial to reduce the switching current for the amorphous-to-crystalline phase transition. Due to Sn-doping, the sheet resistance of crystalline Ge2Sb2Te5 thin films increases about 2-10 times, which may be useful to reduce the switching current for the amorphous-to-crystalline phase change. In addition, an obvious decreasing dispersibility for the sheet resistance of Sn-doped Ge2Sb2Te5 thin films in the crystalline state has been observed, which can play an important role in minimizing resistance difference for the phase-change memory cell element arrays.     

Nanostructure and thermal-optical properties of vanadium dioxide thin films

A novel nanopolycrystalline structure of vanadium dioxide thin films is deposited on silicon or fused silica substrates by reactive ion sputtering and followed by an annealing. The characteristic analysis shows that the films have a columnar nanostructure with an average grain of 8 nm. The resistivities as a function of ambient temperatures tested by four-point probes for as-deposited films present that the transition temperature for nanostructure of vanadium dioxide films is near 35 ℃ which lowers about 33 ℃ in comparison with the transition temperature at 68 ℃ in its microstructure.     

Ferroelectric Properties of Bi3.25La0.75Ti3O12 Thin Films Crystallized inDifferent N2/O2 Ambients

Bi3.25La0.75 Ti3O12 （BLT） ferroelectric thin films are deposited by sol-gel method and annealed for crystallizaion in total l eccm N2/02 mixed gas with various ratio at 750℃ for 30rain. The effect of crystallization ambient on the structural and ferroelectric properties of the BLT films is studied. The growth direction and grain size of BLT film are revealed to affect ferroeleetric properties. Alter the BLT film is annealed in 20%O2, the largest P~ value is obtained, which is ascribed to an increase of random orientation and large grain size. The fatigue property is improved with the concentration of oxygen in the ambient increasing, which is ascribed to annealing in the ambient with high concentrated oxygen adequately decreasing the defects related to lack of oxygen.     

Crystal Structure and Magnetic Properties of Sm2 Fe17-Nδ Thin Films Deposited on Si （100） Substrates

This work focuses on the crystal structure and magnetic properties of the hard magnetic Sm2 Fe17 Nδ films prepared by dc magnetron sputtering and the subsequent nitriding process. The XRD, EDS, M-H and M-T data show that N enters the cell structure and the films with the single Th2Zn17 phase are obtained when the nitriding temperature varies from 300 to 400℃, thus the maximum value of the coercivity Hc reaches 2561.7Oe. However, the Sm2Fo17 phase decomposes to the StuN nonmagnetic phase and the α-Fe soft magnetic phase with further increasing nitriding temperature, which corresponds to the decreasing Hc. Furthermore, the easy magnetization direction （EMD） is found to locate randomly in the film plane. This texture can not give an excellent MR/Ms higher than the Stoner-Wohlfarth limitation （MR/Ms = 0.5）, which agrees well with the observed low MR/Ms （0.58）. It is suggested that the magnetization reversal process is dominated by the nucleation mechanism according to the initial magnetization curve and the dependence of Hc on the field H.     

Properties of Diamond-Like Carbon Films Synthesized by Dual-Target Unbalanced Magnetron Sputtering

Smooth, dense and uniform diamond-like carbon films (DLC films) for industrial applications have successfully been prepared by dual-target unbalanced magnetron sputtering and the DLC characteristics of the films are confirmed by Raman spectra. It is found that the sputtering current of target plays an important role in the DLC film deposition. Deposition rate of 3.5 μm/h is obtained by using the sputtering current of 30 A. The friction coefficient of the films is 0.2-0.225 measured by using a pin-on-disc microtribometer. The structure of the films tends to have a growth of sp^3 bonds content at high sputtering current. The compressive residual stress in the films increases with the increasing sputtering current of the target.     

Annealing induced refinement on optical transmission and electrical resistivity of indium tin oxide

The effect of annealing condition on sputtered indium tin oxide （ITO） films on quartz with the thickness of 200 nm is characterized to show enhanced optical transparency and optimized electrical contact resistivity. The as-deposited grown ITO film exhibits only 65% and 80% transmittance at 532 and 632.8 nm, respectively. After annealing at 475 ℃ for 15 min, the ITO film is refined to show improved transmittance at shorter wavelength region. The transmittances of 88.1% at 532 nm and 90.4% at 632.8 nm can be obtained. The 325-nm transmittance of the post-annealed ITO film is greatly increased from 12.7% to 41.9%. Optimized electrical property can be obtained when annealing below 450 ℃, leading to a minimum sheet resistance of 26 Ω/square. Such an ITO film with enhanced ultraviolet （UV） transmittance has become an alternative candidate for applications in current UV photonic devices. The morphology and conductance of the as-deposited and annealed ITO films are determined by using an atomic force microscopy （AFM）, showing a great change on the uniformity distribution with finite improvement on the surface conductance of the ITO film after annealing.     

Effect of Temperature on Structural and Magnetic Properties of Laser Ablated Iron Oxide Deposited on Si（100）

We fabricate Fe3O4 thin films on Si（100） substrates at different temperatures using pulsed laser deposition, and study the effect of annealing and deposition temperature on the structural and magnetic properties of Fe3O4 thin films. Subsequently, the films are characterized by x-ray diffraction （XRD）, scanning electron microscopy （SEM） and vibrating sample magnetometery （VSM）. The XRD results of these films confirm the presence of the Fe3O4 phase and show room-temperature ferromagnetism, as observed with VSM. We demonstrate the optimized deposition and annealing conditions for an enhanced magnetization of 854 emu/cm3 that is very high when compared to the bulk sample.     

Monte Carlo Simulation of Kerr Effect and Giant Magnetoresistance in CoxAg（1-x） Granular Films

Based on the Monte Carlo simulation, we present the theoretical calculation of the Kerr loops and giant magnetoresistance (GMR) curves in CoxAg（1-x) granular films. The calculated results of both the Kerr loops and the GMR curves are in good agreement, with the experimental ones. The anisotropy energy and the dipolar interaction evidently influence the Kerr loops and the GMR effect and it is found that with the increasing Co content X, the value of anisotropy constant K decreases and the value of dipolar interaction constant D increases.The values of Kt for the CoxAg(1-x) granular films are calculated, which plays an important role in explaining the GMR effect of the granular films. Here Kt is a parameter related to the resistivity at zero field and to the scattering parameter constant.     

Effects of Substrate Temperature and Vacuum Annealing on Properties of ITO Films Prepared by Radio-Frquency Magnetron Sputtering

Indium tin oxide （ITO） films were prepared by rf magnetron sputtering under two conditions： （i） at substrate temperature Ts from room temperature （RT） to 350℃ （ii） with additional post-annealing in vacuum at 400℃ for 30 min in comparison of their crystalline structures, and electrical-optical properties of the films deposited. From the experimental results, it is found that, under the first condition, the crystalline structures and the electrical-optical properties of the films are improved with the increasing Ts. Under the other condition, i.e. with the additional post-annealing, the films exhibit higher degree of crystallinities and better electrical-optical properties. Under the two deposition conditions, inter-relation between electrical-optical properties and the crystalline structure is observed clearly. However, even under the same annealing condition, it is observed that improved properties of the films are different, depending on their deposition temperatures, which implies that an initial stage of the ITO film before annealing is an important factor for the film＇s properties improved after annealing. The resistivity of 2.33 × 10-4 Ω·cm can be achieved at Ts of 350℃after annealing.     

Reduction of Ordering Temperature of FePt-Al2O3 Thin Films by N2 Addition During Sputtering

We investigate the effect of N2 addition during sputtering on the microstructure and magnetic properties of FePt-Al2O3 thin films. The texture of FePt phase in FePt-Al2O3 thin films changes from （111） to a more random orientation by N2 addition during sputtering. The ordering temperature of FePt phase reduces about 100℃ with appropriate N2 partial pressure. A larger coercivity of 6.0 × 10^5 Aim is obtained with N2 partial pressure about 15%. Structural analysis reveals that a small quantity of Fe3N phase forms during sputtering and the release of N atoms during the post annealing induces a large number of vacancies in the films, which benefits to the transformation of FePt phase from fcc to fct.     

Extra-Large Magnetoresistance in Fe/In2O3 Granular Films

Nanogranular Fe0.35/(In2O3)0.65 films with complex magnetic structure were prepared by the rf sputtering method.An extra-large magnetoresistance up to 506% was obtained at 2.2K,which is two orders of magnitude larger than that obtained at room temperature.This is related to the interaction with the impurities influencing the local magnetization,which is quite different from the spin-dependent tunnelling effect at room temperature.The interspacing Fe atoms dispersed in the In2O3 matrix play an important role in the transportation properties of carriers at low temperature.     

Write-Once Medium with Fe-Doped BiOx Thin Films for Blue Laser Recording

Fe：BiOx films are fabricated on K9 glass substrates by rf-magnetron sputtering of a BiFeO target under argon atmosphere with increasing sputtering power from 80 to 200 W at room temperature. It is found that the thin films grown at the sputtering power of 160 W can be formed at an appropriate deposition rate and have an improved surface morphology. The XPS result reveals that the films investigated are comprised of Bi, Fe and O elements. A typical XRD pattern shows that no phase transition occurs in the films up to 400℃. The results of the blue laser recording test demonstrate that the Fe：BiOx films have good writing sensitivity for blue laser beam （406.7nm） and good stability after reading 10000 times. The recording marks of 200nm or less are obtained. These results indicate that the introduction of Fe into BiOx films can reduce the mark size and improve the stability of the films.     

Modelling and Optimization for Deposition of SiOxNy Films by Radio-Frequency Reactive Sputtering

SiOxNy films are deposited by reactive sputtering from a Si target in Ar/O2/N2 atmospheres. In order to achieve the control of film composition and to keep a high deposition rate at the same time, a new sputtering model based on Berg＇s work is provided for the condition of double reactive gases. Analysis based on this model shows that the deposition process can easily enter the target-poisoning mode when the preset gas flow （N2 in this work） is too high, and the film composition will change from nitrogen-rich to SiO2-like with the increase of oxygen supply while keeping the N2 supply constant. The modelling results are confirmed in the deposition process of SiOxNy. Target self-bias voltages during sputtering are measured to characterize the different sputtering modes. FTIR-spectra and dielectric measurements are used to testify the model prediction of composition. Finally, an optimized sputtering condition is selected with the O2/N2 flow ratio varying from 0 to I and N2 supply fixed at I sccm. Average deposition rate of 17nm/min is obtained under this selected condition, which has suggested the model validity and potential for industry applications.     

Low-Temperature （〈 100℃） Poly-Si Thin Film Fabrication on Glass

Polycrystalline silicon （poly-Si） thin-film is fabricated on Al-coated planar glass substrates at the temperature below 100℃, using aluminium-induced crystallized （AIC） amorphous silicon （a-S0 deposited by dc-magnetron sputtering under an electric field. The properties of NA poly-Si films （AIC of dc-magnetron sputtered silicon non-annealing） are characterized by Raman spectroscopy and x-ray diffraction （XRD） spectroscopy. A narrow and symmetrical Rarnan peak at a wave number of about 521 cm^-1 is observed for samples, showing that the films are fully crystallized. XRD spectra reveal that the films are preferentially （111） oriented. Furthermore, the XRD spectrum of the sample prepared without electric field does not show any XRD peaks for poly-Si, which only appears at about 38° for AI （111） orientation. It is indicated that the electric field plays an important role in crystallization of poly-Si during the dc-magnetron sputtering. Thus, high quality poly-Si film can be obtained at low temperature and separate post-deposition step of AIC of a-silicon can be avoided.     

The magnetization reversal behaviour for SmCo6.8Zr0.2 and SmCo6.8Zr0.2a-（Fe,Co） nanocrystalline magnets at low temperature

This paper reports that the SmCo6.8Zr0.2 nanocrystalline permanent magnets and SmCo6.8Zr0.2/a-（Fe,Co） nanocomposite permanent magnets are successfully produced by mechanical alloying and subsequently annealing at 700℃ for 10 minutes. The x-ray diffraction results show that the phase structure of SmCo6.8Zr0.2 nanocrystalline permanent magnets is composed of SmCo7 phase and SmCo6.8Zr0.2/a-（Fe,Co） nanocomposite permanent magnets is composed of SmCo7 and a-（Fe,Co） phases. The mechanism of magnetization reversal is mainly controlled by inhomogeneous domain wall pinning in SmCo6.8Zr0.2 and SmCo6.8Zr0.2/a-（Fe,Co） magnets. The inter-grain exchange interaction at low temperature is investigated, which shows that the inter-grain exchange interaction of SmCo6.8Zr0.2/a-（Fe,Co） magnets increases greatly by the decrease of the measured temperature. According to Amirr-H/Hcj, Amrev-H/Hcj and Xirr-H/Hcj curves at room temperature and 100 K, the changes of irreversible and reversible magnetization behaviours of SmCo6.8Zr0.2 and SmCo6.8Zr0.2/a-（Fe,Co） magnets with the decreasing temperature are analysed in detail. The magnetic viscosity and the activation volume of SmCo6.8Zr0.2 and SmCo6.8Zr0.2/a-（Fe,Co） magnets at different temperatures are also studied.