Peculiarities of the Processing of Polycrystalline AlN Films on Glass-Ceramic and Si Substrates by Argon Cluster Ions.

The peculiarities of the surface processing of polycrystalline aluminum-nitride films on glass-ceramic and silicon substrates grown under identical conditions are considered. Aluminum-nitride films are obtained using the magnetron sputtering of a pure aluminum target (99.99%) in nitrogen–argon plasma at a magnetron power of 700 W. The consumption of working gases is 10 sccm for nitrogen and 4 sccm for argon. The film thickness is determined using a quartz resonator inside the chamber of the magnetron setup. Atomic force microscopy is used to study the surface relief of the targets before and after treatment by argon cluster ions. Small single crystallites are shown to grow on the initial surfaces, the lateral size of which is in the range of 250–550 nm. The depth of target etching by argon cluster ions is determined. Cluster ions with low energy per atom are shown to have a high efficiency of surface smoothing. A comparison of the surface morphology and surface-roughness parameters of aluminum nitride on different substrates obtained using atomic force microscopy is carried out. It is shown that aluminum nitride on silicon is smoothed more efficiently than on a glass-ceramic substrate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]