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Surface Morphology and Microstructure of Al-O Alloys Grown by ECR Plasma Deposition

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Abstract

The growth of polycrystalline and amorphous aluminum-oxygen alloy films using electron-beam evaporation of Al in the presence of an O2 electron-cyclotron-resonance (ECR) plasma was investigated for film compositions varying from 40% Al (A12O3) to near 100% Al (A1Ox). Processing parameters such as deposition temperature and ion energy were varied to study their effects on surface texture and film microstructure. The Al-rich films (A1Ox) contain polycrystalline fcc Al grains with finely dispersed second-phase particles of γ-Al2O3 (1-2 nm in size). The surface roughness of these films was measured by atomic force microscopy and found to increase with sample bias and deposition temperature. Stoichiometric A12O3 films grown at 100°C and 400°C without an applied bias were amorphous, while an applied bias of −140 V formed a nanocrystalline γ-Al2O3 film at 400°C. The surface roughness of the A12O3 increased with temperature while ion irradiation produced a smoother surface.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank L. Griego, K. Minor, M. Moran, D.S. Walsh, and J.H. Burkhart for technical assistance. This work was supported by the U.S. DOE Office of Basic Energy Sciences (Division of Materials Science and the Synthesis and Processing Center) under contracts: DE-FG02-90ER45417 (Maine) and DE-AC04-94AL85000 (Sandia).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory for Surface Science and Technology, University of Maine, Orono, ME, 04469, USA

    D.A. Marshall & R.J. Lad

  2. Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM, 87185-1056, USA

    J.C. Barbour, D.M. Follstaedt & A.J. Howard

Authors
  1. D.A. Marshall
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  2. J.C. Barbour
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  3. D.M. Follstaedt
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  4. A.J. Howard
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  5. R.J. Lad
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Marshall, D., Barbour, J., Follstaedt, D. et al. Surface Morphology and Microstructure of Al-O Alloys Grown by ECR Plasma Deposition. MRS Online Proceedings Library 403, 235–240 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1557/PROC-403-235

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/PROC-403-235

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