Nanoscale and macroscale aluminum nitride deposition via reactive magnetron sputtering method

The growth of group III nitrides is receiving a great deal of attention due to their potential as materials for optoelectronic devices in the blue to ultraviolet spectral range. This dissertation is primarily focused on deposition of aluminum nitride thin films on both nanofibers and macroscale silicon substrates via reactive magnetron sputtering. The objectives include investigating the feasibility of coating nanofibers to prepare high quality (smooth and crystalline) nanotubes, nanofiber hetero structures and using buffer layers to improve the quality of macroscale AlN thin films.; To satisfy the need of nanoscale semiconductor materials, deposition of AlN on poly (meta-phenylene isophthalamide) MPD-I nano-fiber (template) was investigated via reactive magnetron sputtering. The electrospun high-temperature nanofibers with uniform dimensions were heated up to 300°C or higher. The coatings on the fibers were continuous and their morphology and crystal structure (either hexagonal wurtzite structure or cubic zinc-blende structure) were controlled by changing the deposition conditions. After removing the fiber core with organic solvent or by pyrolysis, AlN nanotubes (hollow structures) with inner diameter of 50--100 nm were achieved.; As the nanoscale building blocks, nanoscale semiconductor heterostructures with modulated composition can facilitate the generation of devices with various functions. In this work, SiO2-AlN core-shell nanofiber heterostructures with SiO2 core and AlN shell were created by electro-spinning and reactive magnetron sputtering methods. Also the AlN coating (shell) was designed with different morphologies and crystalline properties by controlling the deposition conditions. The critical operating parameters for the formation of different morphologies of AlN shells were investigated.; In practice, AlN thin film materials are still widely used for microelectronic and optoelectronic devices. To investigate and develop semiconducting AlN films, the most important subject is the fabrication of high quality AlN films. High quality (smooth and highly oriented) macroscale AlN thin films were successively prepared using high quality zirconium buffer layer by sputtering method. The lattice match between AlN and Zr is expected to result in less strain in the material and a lower defect density.