Effect of rapid thermal annealing of sputtered aluminium nitride film in an oxygen ambient

Aluminium nitride (AlN) thin films were deposited by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering on p-type silicon (Si) substrate of (1 0 0) orientation using only argon (Ar) gas at substrate temperature of 300 °C. In order to achieve improved electrical properties, we performed post-deposition rapid thermal annealing (RTA). Sputtered AlN films were annealed in an oxygen ambient at temperatures of 600, 700, and 800 °C using RTA for 30 min. The orientation of the AlN crystal in the film was investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD). The characteristic spectra by functional group were analyzed by Fourier transformation infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The electrical properties of the AlN thin films were studied through capacitance–voltage (C–V) characteristics in metal–insulator–semiconductor (MIS) device using the films as insulating layers. The flatband voltages (VFB) in C–V curves were found to depend on crystal orientations. Negative VFB was found in the case when AlN (1 0 0) peak was found. Also, when AlN (1 0 3) peak was observed upon increasing the annealing temperature, the value of VFB was positive and after annealing at 700 °C, AlN (1 0 3) peak intensity was found to be maximum and VFB was as high as+6.5 V.