Loughborough University
Browse
BiTFlupin.pdf (440.63 kB)

Structure and resistivity of bismuth thin films deposited by pulsed DC sputtering

Download (440.63 kB)
journal contribution
posted on 2015-08-24, 10:30 authored by Steven A. Stanley, Michael Cropper
Bismuth thin films have been deposited using pulsed DC magnetron sputter deposition under four deposition conditions, combining powers of 50 and 100 W and argon gas pressures, 2 and 10 mTorr. Estimated deposition rates were between 0.08 and 3.5 nm s−1. The films were examined using scanning electron microscopy, cross-sectioning using a focussed ion beam (FIB), X-ray diffraction and sheet resistance and Hall effect measurement. Room temperature deposition gave a predominant orientational texture of (111) rhombohedral. However, higher film thickness, low sputtering power, high sputtering gas pressure and deposition onto a heated substrate above 125 °C increase the fraction of (110) orientation. FIB cross-sectioning indicates that films deposited at room temperature have an irregular crystalline structure with voids, but those grown at 160 °C are denser with a better polycrystalline structure. Transport measurements indicate a dominance of conduction by electrons, with films deposited at room temperature having high sheet resistance, low sheet resistance being favoured by low sputtering pressure. Deposition at higher temperatures improves the conductivity but increases the Hall coefficient.

History

School

  • Science

Department

  • Physics

Published in

Applied Physics A: materials science and processing

Volume

120

Issue

4

Pages

1461 - 1468 (8)

Citation

STANLEY, S.A. and CROPPER, M.D., 2015. Structure and resistivity of bismuth thin films deposited by pulsed DC sputtering. Applied Physics A: materials science and processing, 120 (4), pp. 1461 - 1468.

Publisher

© Springer Verlag

Version

  • AM (Accepted Manuscript)

Publisher statement

This work is made available according to the conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) licence. Full details of this licence are available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Publication date

2015

Notes

The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00339-015-9337-3

ISSN

1432-0630

Language

  • en