Effect of thermal oxidation on the structural and optical properties of aluminum thin films prepared by magnetron sputtering method

Abstract

In this paper, thin films of aluminum were prepared by DC-magnetron sputtering from an aluminum target of purity (99.99) followed by thermal oxidation in air at different temperatures. After that, the prepared samples were characterized and the effect of oxidation temperature on the optical and structural properties of the prepared films was studied. It was observed that the growth of the oxide film decreased in the treated sample at 500°C compared to the lower temperatures. In the case of low temperatures, it was observed that the oxide film nucleation rate increased with the increase in temperature, and the thicknesses were irregular. The study also showed obtaining tetrahedral and octahedral structures from aluminum oxide and forming aluminum hydroxide. In addition to the above, the surface roughness decreased with increasing temperature, where it decreased by about 84% upon oxidation to a temperature of 500°C. The study also included investigating the effect of the studied structural and topographical properties on the reflectivity spectrum of the prepared films.