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

Journal Article · Tue Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 2008 · Materials Research Society Symposium Proceedings

OSTI ID:937486

Farrell, R; Pagan, V R; Kabulski, A; Kuchibhatla, S; Harman, J; Kasarla, K R; Rodak, L E; Hensel, J P; Famouri, P; Korakakis, D

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 Laboratory (NETL), Pittsburgh, PA, Morgantown, WV, and Albany, OR; West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE - Office of Fossil Energy (FE); AIXTRON; National Science Foundation; EPSCoR - USDOE Office of Energy Research (ER); WVU Research Corp.
• DOE Contract Number: AC26-04NT41817
• OSTI ID: 937486
• Report Number(s): DOE/NETL-IR-2008-058; NETL-TPR-2009; AIXTRON and NSF RII contract EPS 0554328
• Journal Information: Materials Research Society Symposium Proceedings, Journal Name: Materials Research Society Symposium Proceedings Vol. 1052; ISSN 0272-9172
• Publisher: Materials Research Society, Warrendale, PA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
ALUMINIUM NITRIDES
ANNEALING
OXIDATION
PIEZOELECTRICITY
THIN FILMS
VAPOR PHASE EPITAXY