Characterisation of AlN nano thin films prepared by PLD

Abstract

Aluminium nitride (AlN) nano thin films have been prepared by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) in this paper. The microstructure and grain size of the nano thin films were characterised by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results showed that the PLD conditions such as laser fluence, ambient pressure and substrate temperature influence the thickness, morphology and grain size of the nano thin films obviously, i.e. the surface of the nano thin films becomes rough while the grain size increases with increasing the laser fluence, ambient pressure and substrate temperature. In addition, there exists a preferred orientation growth in the thin films.