Deposit of AIN thin films by nitrogen reactive pulser laser ablation using an Al target

We report the synthesis of AIN hexagonal thin films by pulsed laser ablation, using Al target in nitrogen ambient over natively-oxidized Si (111) at 600 degrees Celsius. Composition and chemical state were determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, while structural properties were investigated using X-ray diffraction. High-resolution XPS spectra present a gradual shift to higher binding energies on the Al_2p peak when nitrogen pressure is incremented, indicating the formation of the AIN compound. At 30 m Torr nitrogen pressure, the Al_2p peak corresponds to AIN, located at 73.1 eV, and the X-ray diffraction patter shows a hexagonal phase of AIN. The successful formation of the AIN compound is corroborated by UV-Vis reflectivity measurements. (Author)