Microstructure and mechanical properties of sputtered Aluminum thin films

F. M. Mwema*, E. T. Akinlabi, O. P. Oladijo, S. Krishna, Jyotsna Dutta Majumdar

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalConference articlepeer-review

5 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The microstructure, surface roughness and mechanical properties of aluminum thin films deposited by rf magnetron sputtering are presented. The films were sputtered on stainless steel substrates at varying rf powers of 150 W, 200 W, 300 W and 350 W at a deposition time of 2 hours and at a substrate temperature of 90oC. The microstructure at 200 W shows fine, well-defined and homogeneous distributed grains. The lowest surface roughness is at the power of 150 W whereas the highest is at 250 W. The highest modulus, hardness and lowest depth of penetration are obtained at 200 W. The results indicate no direct relationship among rf power, mechanical, roughness and microstructure of Al thin films deposited at substrate temperature of 90oC. As such, optimization of the sputtering process for rf power is necessary for deposition of quality Al films on metals.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)929-934
Number of pages6
JournalProcedia Manufacturing
Volume35
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2019
Externally publishedYes
Event2nd International Conference on Sustainable Materials Processing and Manufacturing, SMPM 2019 - Sun City, South Africa
Duration: 8 Mar 201910 Mar 2019

Keywords

  • Aluminum
  • Magnetron sputtering
  • Power
  • Surface roughness
  • Thin films

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