Dependence of characteristics of LaB6 films on DC magnetron sputtering power

• Published in: Transactions of Nonferrous Metals Society of China Vol. 19; no. 4; pp. 952 - 955
• Main Author: 徐静 闵光辉 胡立杰 赵晓华 于化顺
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Department of Civil Engineering, Shandong Jiaotong University, Ji'nan 250023, ChinaReceived 18 June 2008%School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Ji'nan 250061, China 01-08-2009
• Subjects: 依赖性; 六硼化镧; 原子力显微镜; 溅射功率; 界面结合强度; 磁控溅射技术; 薄膜沉积; microstructure; bonding strength; DC magnetron sputtering; LaB6 film
• ISSN: 1003-6326
• DOI: 10.1016/S1003-6326(08)60384-2

Lanthanum hexaboride（LaB6） thin films were deposited on glass substrate by DC magnetron sputtering technology, and the AFM, XRD and scratch tests were used to characterize the deposited films. Influences of sputtering power on the microstructure and the bonding strength between the film and substrate were investigated. AFM observation proves that the dense films are obtained, and the surface roughness is below 4.3 nm. The LaB6 film shows the crystalline structure with the grain less than 100 nm. The XRD pattern identifies that the crystal structure of the films is in accordance with that of bulk LAB6, and the （100） crystal face is dominated. The average grain size decreases firstly and then increases with increasing power, and reaches the minimum of 40 nm when the sputtering power is 44 W. Moreover, the intensity of peaks in XRD pattern increases firstly and decreases afterward with increasing power. When the sputtering power is 50 W, the peak intensity reaches the maximum, showing an intense relationship between the power and crystal structures. The scratch test shows that interface bonding strength of the film/substrate is higher at the power of 44 W than the others, due to the formation of the nanosized crystals and their improved surface energy.