Heteroepitaxial growth of Ga2O3 thin films on Al2O3(0001) by ion beam sputter deposition.

Deposition of epitaxial oxide semiconductor films using physical vapor deposition methods requires a detailed understanding of the role of energetic particles to control and optimize the film properties. In the present study, Ga 2 O 3 thin films are heteroepitaxially grown on Al 2 O 3 (0001) substrates using oxygen ion beam sputter deposition. The influence of the following relevant process parameters on the properties of the thin films is investigated: substrate temperature, oxygen background pressure, energy of primary ions, ion beam current, and sputtering geometry. The kinetic energy distributions of ions in the film-forming flux are measured using an energy-selective mass spectrometer, and the resulting films are characterized regarding crystalline structure, microstructure, surface roughness, mass density, and growth rate. The energetic impact of film-forming particles on the thin film structure is analyzed, and a noticeable decrease in crystalline quality is observed above the average energy of film-forming Ga + ions around 40 eV for the films grown at a substrate temperature of 725 ° C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]