GROWTH AND CHARACTERIZATION OF ALN THIN FILM USING THE SPIN COATING METHOD: EFFECT OF ANNEALING TEMPERATURE

Abstract

This paper reports the growth and characterization of aluminum nitride (AlN) thin film deposited on n-type silicon n-Si(100) using a versatile and cost effective method namely spin coating. The work focuses on the effects of annealing temperature on the structural, surface morphological and optical properties of the deposited AlN thin films. The optical properties of the deposited thin film were determined by using Fourier transform infrared spectrometer. This paper reports the growth and characterization of aluminum nitride (AlN) thin film deposited on n-type silicon n-Si(100) using a versatile and cost effective method namely spin coating. The work focuses on the effects of annealing temperature on the structural, surface morphological and optical properties of the deposited AlN thin films. The optical properties of the deposited thin film were determined by using Fourier transform infrared spectrometer. The optical phonon corresponds to the E1(TO) of the AlN peak is close to the characteristic value of AlN at 670 cm-1. For X-rays diffraction, diffraction peak at 2θ = 33° corresponds to AlN (100) plane for the sample annealed at 650 °C is clearly observed. While from the field emission scanning electron microscopy images, the surface morphology of AlN thin films exhibited distinct features of nano-sized crystalline grains. The energy dispersion X-rays spectroscopy results showed the presence of nitrogen, oxygen, aluminum, and silicon elements in the films. Finally, the atomic force microscopy results revealed that the rms surface roughness of the films decreases as the annealing temperature increases.