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Title: High Temperature Annealing Studies on the Piezoelectric Properties of Thin Aluminum Nitride Films

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1015474· OSTI ID:1015474

A Rapid Thermal Annealing (RTA) system was used to anneal sputtered and MOVPE grown Aluminum Nitride (AlN) thin films at temperatures up to 1000°C in ambient and controlled environments. According to Energy Dispersive X-Ray Analysis (EDAX), the films annealed in an ambient environment rapidly oxidize after five minutes at 1000°C. Below 1000°C the films oxidized linearly as a function of annealing temperature which is consistent with what has been reported in literature [1]. Laser Doppler Vibrometry (LDV) was used to measure the piezoelectric coefficient, d33, of these films. Films annealed in an ambient environment had a weak piezoelectric response indicating that oxidation on the surface of the film reduces the value of d33. A high temperature furnace has been built that is capable of taking in-situ measurements of the piezoelectric response of AlN films. In-situ d33 measurements are recorded up to 300°C for both sputtered and MOVPE-grown AlN thin films. The measured piezoelectric response appears to increase with temperature up to 300°C possibly due to stress in the film.

Research Organization:
National Energy Technology Lab. (NETL), Pittsburgh, PA, and Morgantown, WV (United States). In-house Research
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy (FE)
OSTI ID:
1015474
Report Number(s):
NETL-TPR-2009; TRN: US201113%%92
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English