OPTICAL-PROPERTIES AND REACTIVE SPUTTERING CONDITIONS OF ALN AND ALSIN THIN-FILMS FOR MAGNETOOPTICAL APPLICATIONS

The dependence of the refractive index and film thickness of AlN and A lSiN thin films on the reactive sputtering conditions (N-2 partial pre ssure, total pressure, and rf sputtering power) have been studied in d etail and analyzed in terms of the mechanism of reactive sputtering an d the target poisoning phenomenon. On the basis of the results, the sp uttering conditions of AlN and AlSiN films have been optimized for mag neto-optical applications. The AlN and AlSiN films after optimization of the sputtering conditions had very high transmissivity and refracti ve index, and were suitable for magneto-optical Kerr effect enhancemen t. A marked enhancement of the magneto-optical Kerr effect for a TbFeC o film coated with AlN and AlSiN films was observed. The improvement o f the signal-to-noise ratio obtained with the AlSiN film was greater t han the AlN film.