Nivedita L R, Haubert Avery, Battu Anil K, Ramana C V
Center for Advanced Materials Research, University of Texas at El Paso, 500 W. Univ. Ave., El Paso, TX 79968, USA.
Department of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, Broida Hall, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA.
Nanomaterials (Basel). 2020 Jun 30;10(7):1287. doi: 10.3390/nano10071287.
Niobium (Nb) thin films, which are potentially useful for integration into electronics and optoelectronics, were made by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering by varying the substrate temperature. The deposition temperature () effect was systematically studied using a wide range, 25-700 °C, using Si(100) substrates for Nb deposition. The direct correlation between deposition temperature () and electrical properties, surface/interface microstructure, crystal structure, and morphology of Nb films is reported. The Nb films deposited at higher temperature exhibit a higher degree of crystallinity and electrical conductivity. The Nb films' crystallite size varied from 5 to 9 (±1) nm and tensile strain occurs in Nb films as increases. The surface/interface morphology of the deposited Nb films indicate the grain growth and dense, vertical columnar structure at elevated . The surface roughness derived from measurements taken using atomic force microscopy reveal that all the Nb films are characteristically smooth with an average roughness <2 nm. The lowest electrical resistivity obtained was 48 µΩ cm. The correlations found here between growth conditions electrical properties as well as crystal structure, surface/interface morphology, and microstructure, could provide useful information for optimum conditions to produce Nb thin films for utilization in electronics and optoelectronics.
铌（Nb）薄膜可能对集成到电子和光电子器件中有用，通过改变衬底温度利用射频磁控溅射制备。使用Si(100)衬底进行Nb沉积，在25 - 700 °C的宽温度范围内系统地研究了沉积温度（）的影响。报道了沉积温度（）与Nb薄膜的电学性能、表面/界面微观结构、晶体结构和形貌之间的直接相关性。在较高温度下沉积的Nb薄膜表现出更高的结晶度和电导率。Nb薄膜的微晶尺寸在5至9（±1）nm之间变化，并且随着升高，Nb薄膜中会出现拉伸应变。沉积的Nb薄膜的表面/界面形貌表明在较高温度下晶粒生长且结构致密、呈垂直柱状。使用原子力显微镜测量得出的表面粗糙度表明，所有Nb薄膜的特征都是光滑的，平均粗糙度<2 nm。获得的最低电阻率为48 µΩ·cm。这里发现的生长条件与电学性能以及晶体结构、表面/界面形貌和微观结构之间的相关性，可以为生产用于电子和光电子器件的Nb薄膜的最佳条件提供有用信息。
