The Stability of Reactively Sputtered WNx Thin Films on III-V Semiconductors

WNX thin films were deposited at room temperature on (100) n-type GaAs substrates by rf reactive sputtering of a high purity W target in Ar/N2 gas mixtures. Deposition parameters such as the rf power, the ratio of gas flows, and the total pressure can be optimized for the preparation of uniform and low resistivity WNX thin films. The W:N ratio in the as-deposited WNX films was determined using Auger spectroscopy and the morphology was examined …