Microstructure and dielectric properties of piezoelectric magnetron sputtered w-Sc _xAl _1-xN thin films

Piezoelectric wurtzite Sc _xAl _1-xN (x=0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3) thin films were epitaxially grown by reactive magnetron co-sputtering from elemental Sc and Al targets. Al ₂O ₃(0001) wafers with TiN(111) seed and electrode layers were used as substrates. X-ray diffraction shows that an increase in the Sc content results in the degradation of the crystalline quality. Samples grown at 400 °C possess true dielectric behavior with quite low dielectric losses and the leakage current is negligible. For ScAlN samples grown at 800 °C, the crystal structure is poor and leakage current is high. Transmission electron microscopy with energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy mapping shows a mass separation into ScN-rich and AlN-rich domains for x≥0.2 when substrate temperature is increased from 400 to 800 °C. The piezoelectric response of epitaxial Sc _xAl _1-xN films measured by piezoresponse force microscopy and double beam interferometry shows up to 180% increase by the addition of Sc up to x=0.2 independent of substrate temperature, in good agreement with previous theoretical predictions based on density-functional theory.