Compositional and morphological study of reactive ion beam deposited AlN thin films

AIN thin films were prepared on Si(1 0 0) substrates by reactive ion beam c oating (RIBC). The composition and morphology of these films have been anal yzed through non-Rutherford backscattering (NBS), Auger electron spectrosco py (AES) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). It was found that the A1/N rati o and the surface morphology depend on the deposition conditions. We also c oncluded that those films which are nearly stoichiometric all have smooth s urfaces. When beyond stoichiometry, the surplus Al atoms will condense to f orm protruding tips. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.