Effect of N2 partial pressure on the microstructure and texture of MgO films deposited by rf-magnetron sputtering

Intensity of the (200) peak in the X-ray diffraction pattern of the MgO film increases as N-2 is added to At gas during MgO deposition. The optimum flow rate ratio of N-2 to At in order to obtain maximum intensity of the MgO (200) peak is 2 : 5. As introducing N-2 gas, no residual nitrogen atoms are found in the MgO films, which are confirmed by AES and ESCA analysis. On the other hand, the TEM dark field image shows that the average grain size of MgO film increases with increasing the flow rate ratio of N-2 to Ar. This is due to that the deposition rate of MgO film is decreased with increasing the flow rate ratio of N-2 to Ar.