Deposition of AlN thin films on LiTaO3 substrates

In this study, the AlN thin films were deposited on LiTaO
₃
substrates by reactive radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering. The influence of sputtering power and sputtering pressure on the microstructures of AlN films were investigated and discussed. The analysis of the crystalline structures and morphologies of the thin films was carried out using X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopic (AFM) and field emission scanning electron microscope (SEM). The experimental results showed that the AlN films with strongly c-axis orientated, low surface roughness and uniform surface morphologies were obtained at sputtering power of 270 W, sputtering pressure of 5 mtorr, substrate temperature of 300 °C and nitrogen fraction of 60%.