Effect of substrate temperature on microstructure and optical properties of nanocrystalline alumina thin films

Aluminum oxide (Al2O3) thin films were deposited on silicon (100) and quartz substrates by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) at an optimized oxygen partial pressure of 3.0×10−3 mbar in the substrate temperatures range 300–973 K. The films were characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, spectroscopic ellipsometry, UV–visible spectroscopy and nanoindentation. The X-ray diffraction studies showed that the films deposited at low substrate temperatures (300–673 K) were amorphous Al2O3, whereas those deposited at higher temperatures (≥773 K) were polycrystalline cubic γ-Al2O3. The transmission electron microscopy studies of the film prepared at 673 K, showed diffuse ring pattern indicating the amorphous nature of Al2O3. The surface morphology of the films was examined by atomic force microscopy showing dense and uniform nanostructures with increased surface roughness from 0.3 to 2.3 nm with increasing substrate temperature. The optical studies were carried out by ellipsometry in the energy range 1.5–5.5 eV and revealed that the refractive index increased from 1.69 to 1.75 (λ=632.8 nm) with increasing substrate temperature. The UV–visible spectroscopy analysis indicated higher transmittance (>80%) for all the films. Nanoindentation studies revealed the hardness values of 20.8 and 24.7 GPa for the films prepared at 300 K and 973 K respectively.