Pulsed DC Parameters (Reverse Voltage, Duty Cycle, Pulsed Frequency) on Film Quality in Reactive Sputtered Aluminum Nitride Films

Piezoelectric aluminum nitride (AlN) and scandium nitride (AlScN) thin films using reactive pulsed DC magnetron sputtering have shown the grown films on silicon (100) substrates without arcing during the deposition. Limited in-depth DC pulse studies have been done on the role played by variables like pulse frequency, duty cycle, and reverse voltage in the deposition process, despite the fact that many researchers have now demonstrated that pulsed DC magnetron sputtering can be used frequently to produce fully dense, defect-free films. Operating conditions were routinely altered, and the deposition technique was continuously updated. The goal of this study is to look at how the pulse parameters affected the deposition process and then how the pulse parameters and the film properties are correlated. Fifteen (15) distinct design of experiment (DOE) combinations by Box-Behnken experimental method on pulse parameters were executed for film deposition and characterized the films crystallinity, microstructures, and surface roughness to find out film properties in correlation with pulse parameters. This is the way that used for obtaining optimal pulse conditions is based on the subsequent response surface method (RSM) of DOE model.