DUAL ION-BEAM DEPOSITION OF METALLIC THIN-FILMS

The influence of argon ion-beam bombardment of growing Al, Mo and Ti t hin films deposited by ion-beam sputtering on their composition and op tical properties was studied. The Ar ion energy and ion-to-atom arriva l ratio were 100-600 eV and 0.15-1.75 respectively. The concentration of Mo (Al) in the thin films decreased (increased) with ion energy as the Ar content increased (decreased). The Ti content was below 35% for all ion energies. The ratio O/Ti was close to the stoichiometric valu e of two for all ion energies up to 400 eV. Higher ion-beam energies a nd doses led to higher values of the index of refraction for Al and Ti thin films. Furthermore, an increase in the energy of the ions caused a decrease in the deposition rates of all films due to resputtering o f the thin film atoms and, in the case of Al thin films, intensified t he amorphization process in the Al/Si structure.