Influence of nanostructure on charge transport in RuO{sub 2} thin films

Journal Article · Thu Jul 15 00:00:00 EDT 2010 · Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology. A, International Journal Devoted to Vacuum, Surfaces, and Films

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1116/1.3273945· OSTI ID:22053746

Steeves, M M; Lad, R J ^[1]

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1. Department of Physics and Astronomy, and Laboratory for Surface Science and Technology, 5708 ESRB-Barrows Hall, University of Maine, Orono, Maine 04469-5708 (United States)

Polycrystalline thin films of RuO{sub 2} were grown on fused-quartz substrates and a parametric study was carried out to probe the influence of film nanostructure on the four-point Van der Pauw resistivity and Hall coefficient. The films were grown via reactive rf magnetron sputtering of a Ru target in an Ar/O{sub 2} plasma using deposition rates from 0.27 to 3.5 A/s and substrate temperatures from 16 to 500 deg. C Room-temperature resistivities of the RuO{sub 2} films ranged from 58 to 360 {mu}{Omega} cm. Upon first heating following deposition, some films showed decreasing resistivity with increasing temperature, but the resistivities also decreased upon subsequent cooling suggesting that the annealing treatment reduces the film defect density. The temperature coefficient of resistance was found to be small (<0.001 K{sup -1}) in agreement with previous investigations. Hall coefficient measurements of the polycrystalline thin films demonstrated that either n-type or p-type majority carriers can be present depending on deposition conditions and the resulting nanostructure, in contrast to single-crystal RuO{sub 2}, which is an n-type metal. Grain size and homogeneous strain within the films were measured by x-ray diffraction and are correlated to the majority carrier type.

• OSTI ID: 22053746
• Journal Information: Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology. A, International Journal Devoted to Vacuum, Surfaces, and Films, Vol. 28, Issue 4; Other Information: (c) 2010 American Vacuum Society; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1553-1813
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
ANNEALING
CHARGE TRANSPORT
COOLING
CRYSTAL DEFECTS
DEPOSITION
ELECTRIC CONDUCTIVITY
HALL EFFECT
HEATING
MAGNETRONS
NANOSTRUCTURES
N-TYPE CONDUCTORS
PARAMETRIC ANALYSIS
POLYCRYSTALS
P-TYPE CONDUCTORS
QUARTZ
RUTHENIUM OXIDES
STRAINS
TEMPERATURE COEFFICIENT
THIN FILMS
X-RAY DIFFRACTION