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Structural and optical properties of titanium aluminum nitride films (Ti1−xAlxN)

2001; American Institute of Physics; Volume: 19; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1116/1.1359532

1520-8559

Andreas Schüler, V. Thommen, Peter Reimann, Peter Oelhafen, G. Francz, Thomas Zehnder, Marcel Düggelin, Daniel Mathys, R. Guggenheim,

GaN-based semiconductor devices and materials

Titanium aluminum nitride films (Ti1−xAlxN) have been deposited by reactive magnetron cosputtering. Elemental compositions of these films have been determined by core level photoelectron spectroscopy. Scanning electron microscopy reveals a columnar film growth. This is also reflected by the topography of film surfaces as studied by atomic force microscopy. By x-ray diffraction a crystalline atomic structure is revealed. Single phase samples can be obtained, consisting of the substitutional solid solution (Ti, Al)N. Crystallites show preferential orientation. The optical properties of these films have been investigated by spectrophotometry in the UV-VIS-NIR wavelength range. Depending on the elemental composition, the optical constants vary from metallic to dielectric behavior. For film compositions with x<0.5 typical features are a tunable transmission maximum and reflection minimum in the visible spectral range, a high infrared reflection, and a low infrared absorption. Due to these optical properties, Ti1−xAlxN films are promising candidates for applications such as coatings for solar control windows and optical selective solar absorbers.