Dario Grochla

Time- and space-resolved high-throughput characterization of stresses during sputtering and thermal processing of Al-Cr-N thin films

(Al100−xCrx)N thin-film materials libraries (x = 31–79 at%) were fabricated on micro-machined cantilever arrays, in order to simultaneously investigate the evolution of stresses during film growth as well as during thermal processing by analysing the changes in cantilever curvature. The issue of the dependence of stress in the growing films on composition, at comparable film thicknesses, was investigated. Among the various experimental parameters studied, it was found that the applied substrate bias has the strongest influence on stress evolution and microstructure formation. The compositions of the films, as well as the applied substrate bias, have a pronounced effect on the lattice parameter and the coherence length. For example, applying a substrate bias in general leads to compressive residual stress, increases the lattice parameter and decreases the coherence length. Moreover, bias can change the film texture from [1 1 1] orientation to [2 0 0]. Further detailed analysis using x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy clearly revealed the presence of a [1 1 1] highly textured face centred cubic (B1 type) Al–Cr–N phase in the as-deposited state as well as the coexistence of the hexagonal [1 1 0] textured Cr2N phase, which forms in the Cr-rich region. These results show that the combinatorial approach provides insight into how stresses and compositions are related to phases and microstructures of different Al–Cr–N compositions fabricated in the form of materials libraries.

Combinatorial investigation of Fe-B thin-film nanocomposites.

Abstract Combinatorial magnetron sputter deposition from elemental targets was used to create Fe–B composition spread type thin film materials libraries on thermally oxidized 4-in. Si wafers. The materials libraries consisting of wedge-type multilayer thin films were annealed at 500 or 700 °C to transform the multilayers into multiphase alloys. The libraries were characterized by nuclear reaction analysis, Rutherford backscattering, nanoindentation, vibrating sample magnetometry, x-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Youngs modulus and hardness values were related to the annealing parameters, structure and composition of the films. The magnetic properties of the films were improved by annealing in a H2 atmosphere, showing a more than tenfold decrease in the coercive field values in comparison to those of the vacuum-annealed films. The hardness values increased from 8 to 18 GPa when the annealing temperature was increased from 500 to 700 °C. The appearance of Fe2B phases, as revealed by XRD and TEM, had a significant effect on the mechanical properties of the films.

Fundamental study of an industrial reactive HPPMS (Cr,Al)N process

In this work, a fundamental investigation of an industrial (Cr,Al)N reactive high power pulsed magnetron sputtering (HPPMS) process is presented. The results will be used to improve the coating development for the addressed application, which is the tool coating for plastics processing industry. Substrate-oriented plasma diagnostics and deposition of the (Cr,Al)N coatings were performed for a variation of the HPPMS pulse frequency with values from f = 300 Hz to f = 2000 Hz at constant average power P = 2.5 kW and pulse length ton = 40 μs. The plasma was investigated using an oscilloscope, an intensified charge coupled device camera, phase-resolved optical emission spectroscopy, and an energy-dispersive mass spectrometer. The coating properties were determined by means of scanning electron microscopy, glow discharge optical emission spectroscopy, cantilever stress sensors, nanoindentation, and synchrotron X-ray diffraction. Regarding the plasma properties, it was found that the average energy within the pl...

PEALD of SiO2 and Al2O3 Thin Films on Polypropylene: Investigations of the Film Growth at the Interface, Stress, and Gas Barrier Properties of Dyads

A study on the plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition of amorphous inorganic oxides SiO2 and Al2O3 on polypropylene (PP) was carried out with respect to growth taking place at the interface of the polymer substrate and the thin film employing in situ quartz-crystal microbalance (QCM) experiments. A model layer of spin-coated PP (scPP) was deposited on QCM crystals prior to depositions to allow a transfer of findings from QCM studies to industrially applied PP foil. The influence of precursor choice (trimethylaluminum (TMA) vs [3-(dimethylamino)propyl]-dimethyl aluminum (DMAD)) and of plasma pretreatment on the monitored QCM response was investigated. Furthermore, dyads of SiO2/Al2O3, using different Al precursors for the Al2O3 thin-film deposition, were investigated regarding their barrier performance. Although the growth of SiO2 and Al2O3 from TMA on scPP is significantly hindered if no oxygen plasma pretreatment is applied to the scPP prior to depositions, the DMAD process was found to yield comparable Al2O3 growth directly on scPP similar to that found on a bare QCM crystal. From this, the interface formed between the Al2O3 and the PP substrate is suggested to be different for the two precursors TMA and DMAD due to different growth modes. Furthermore, the residual stress of the thin films influences the barrier properties of SiO2/Al2O3 dyads. Dyads composed of 5 nm Al2O3 (DMAD) + 5 nm SiO2 exhibit an oxygen transmission rate (OTR) of 57.4 cm3 m-2 day-1, which correlates with a barrier improvement factor of 24 against 5 when Al2O3 from TMA is applied.

Correlative plasma-surface model for metastable Cr-Al-N: Frenkel pair formation and influence of the stress state on the elastic properties

Correlatively employing density functional theory and experiments congregated around high power pulsed magnetron sputtering, a plasma-surface model for metastable Cr0.8Al0.2N (space group Fm 3 ¯m) is developed. This plasma-surface model relates plasma energetics with film composition, crystal structure, mass density, stress state, and elastic properties. It is predicted that N Frenkel pairs form during Cr0.8Al0.2N growth due to high-energy ion irradiation, yielding a mass density of 5.69 g cm−3 at room temperature and Youngs modulus of 358–130 GPa in the temperature range of 50–700 K for the stress-free state and about 150 GPa larger values for the compressive stress of 4 GPa. Our measurements are consistent with the quantum mechanical predictions within 5% for the mass density and 3% for Youngs modulus. The hypothesis of a stress-induced Youngs modulus change may at least in part explain the spread in the reported elasticity data ranging from 250 to 420 GPa.

Improved homogeneity of plasma and coating properties using a lance matrix gas distribution in MW-PECVD

Plasma reactors for the application of silicon oxide coatings (SiOx) are often customized to optimize the processes regarding substrate properties and targeted functionalities. The design of these reactors is often based on qualitative considerations. This paper evaluates the use of a numerical, free simulation software for continuous mechanical problems (OpenFOAM) as a tool to evaluate reactor design options. As demonstrator for this purpose serves a given reactor for large-area pulsed microwave plasmas with a precursor inlet in the form of a shower ring. Previous results indicate that the shower ring may lead to an inhomogeneity in plasma and coatings properties along the substrate surface. Thus, a new precursor inlet design shall be developed. For this, the distribution of the process gases in the reactor for a variety of gas inlet designs and gas flows was simulated and a design chosen based on the results. The reactor was modified accordingly, and the simulations correlated with experimental results of plasma and coating properties. The results show that, despite many simplifications, a simulation of the neutral gas distribution using an open-access software can be a viable tool to support reactor and process design development.