Effect of deposition temperature on surface acoustic wave velocity of aluminum nitride films determined by Brillouin spectroscopy

Brillouin spectroscopy has been used to study the effect of the deposition temperature on the surface acoustic wave SAW propagation velocity of aluminum nitride AlN films. The results show a dependence of the SAW propagation velocity on the growth temperature of AlN films. The highest value of acoustic velocity was obtained for the film elaborated without heating. Structural characterization of the AlN films synthesized at various deposition temperatures was carried out by x-ray diffraction. These analyses pointed out that the deposition temperature influences the standard deviation of 002 AlN film preferred orientation. The growth temperature clearly influences the acoustical and crystalline properties of AlN thin films. © 2005 American Institute of Physics. DOI: 10.1063/1.2121927