Stress dependence of reactively sputtered aluminum nitride thin films on sputtering parameters

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Abstract
Aluminum nitride thin films (∼5000 Å) were deposited by reactively sputtering an aluminum target in a dc magnetron system. The stress and crystallographic orientation associated with these films were found to depend on the total sputtering pressure and the N2 partial flow rate in the sputtering mixture. A pressure range was found to exist between 3.00 and 3.75 mTorr where the film stress was in transition between compression and tension. At total sputtering pressures outside this transition range the pressure determined the type of film stress, while at total sputtering pressures within the transition range the N2 partial flow rate played an important role. Film stress was determined qualitatively by substrate curvature, while x-ray diffraction was used to observe changes in the crystallographic orientation of the films.
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