Analysis of DC magnetron sputtered beryllium films

Conference · Sat Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 1988

OSTI ID:5914880

Price, C. W.; Hsieh, E. J.; Lindsey, E. F.; Pierce, E. L.; Norberg, J. C.

We are evaluating techniques that alter the columnar grain structure in sputtered beryllium films on fused silica substrates. The films are formed by DC magnetron sputtering, and the columnar structure, which is characteristic of this and most other deposition techniques, is highly detrimental to the tensile strength of the films. Attempts to modify the columnar structure by using RF-biased sputtering combined with nitrogen pulsing have been successful, and this paper describes the analyses of these films. Sputtered beryllium films are quite brittle, and the columnar structure in particular tends to form a distinct intergranular fracture; therefore, the grain structure was analyzed in fractured specimens using the high-resolution capability of a scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with a field emission gun (FESEM). Ion microanalysis using secondary-ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) was conducted on some specimens to determining relative contamination levels introduced by nitrogen pulsing. The capability to perform quantitative SIMS analyses using ion-implanted specimens as standards also is being developed. This work confirms that the structure of DC magnetron sputtered beryllium can be improved significantly with combined nitrogen pulsing and RF-biased sputtering. 8 refs.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-48
• OSTI ID: 5914880
• Report Number(s): UCRL-99314; CONF-8810401-1; ON: DE89015727
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

656003* -- Condensed Matter Physics-- Interactions between Beams & Condensed Matter-- (1987-)
75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
ALKALINE EARTH METALS
BERYLLIUM
CRYSTAL STRUCTURE
DEPOSITION
ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
ELECTRON TUBES
ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT
ELEMENTS
EQUIPMENT
FILMS
MAGNETRONS
METALS
MICROSCOPY
MICROSTRUCTURE
MICROWAVE EQUIPMENT
MICROWAVE TUBES
SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
SPUTTERING
SUBSTRATES
SURFACE COATING
THIN FILMS