Magnetron Sputtering of Aluminium Nitride Thin Films for Thermal Management

Well-crystallized aluminium nitride (AlN) thin films were synthesized on silicon substrates at room temperature using magnetron sputtering. Physicochemical properties of the film were investigated using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectrometry and Raman spectrometry. The thermal conductivity of the AlN films was characterized using an original electro-thermal technique. Thanks to an optimization of deposition parameters and target preparation, the different hexagonal crystalline orientations of AlN, i.e. (002), (100), (101) were isolated. It appears that AlN thin films deposited by DC magnetron sputtering exhibit a wide range of thermal conductivity, from 2 to 50 W · K−1 · m−1.