Dense Al2O3 films prepared by high power impulse magnetron sputtering at pulsed kV bias

Dongjie Yang; Yaoyao Liu; Xiang Zhang; Shusheng Chen; Xiaowei Wang; Yu Liao; Xiaokai An; Yanfei Zhao; Lingjie Chen; Suihan Cui; Liangliang Liu; Ricky K Y Fu; Paul K Chu; Zhongzhen Wu

doi:10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140611

Dense Al₂O₃ films prepared by high power impulse magnetron sputtering at pulsed kV bias

Dongjie Yang (Co-first Author)
, Yaoyao Liu (Co-first Author)
, Xiang Zhang
, Shusheng Chen
, Xiaowei Wang
, Yu Liao
, Xiaokai An
, Yanfei Zhao
, Lingjie Chen
, Suihan Cui
, Liangliang Liu^*
, Ricky K Y Fu
, Paul K Chu
, Zhongzhen Wu^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews › RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal › peer-review

Abstract

Al₂O₃ films are often used in electronic and other devices for surface protection due to their excellent insulating and mechanical properties, but these properties depend on the film density. Conventional magnetron sputtering used industrially to deposit Al₂O₃ films faces challenges in density regulation, and many Al₂O₃ coatings have poor densities. Herein, negative kV biases are applied to the substrate in high-power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) to produce the desirable high-energy ions to densify the Al₂O₃ films. Our results indicate that the high pulsed bias also mitigates arcing during the deposition of insulating alumina films. By increasing the pulsed voltage, the film density increases, resulting in higher optical transparency, better insulating and mechanical properties, as well as superior corrosion resistance.

© 2025 Elsevier B.V. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.

Original language	English
Article number	140611
Journal	Thin Solid Films
Volume	811
Online published	21 Jan 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140611
Publication status	Published - 1 Feb 2025

Funding

This work was financially supported by the Shenzhen Science and Technology Research Plan (Grant No. SGDX20201103095406024, KJZD20231023100304009), Sustainable Supporting Funds for Colleges and Universities in 2022 (Grant No. 20220810143642004), National Natural Science Foundation Youth Science Fund project (Grant No. 52305174), Postdoctoral Research Fund Project after Outbound of Shenzhen (Grant No. 6700200201), Shenzhen - Hong Kong Technology Cooperation Funding Scheme (TCFS) (Grant No. GHP/149/20SZ or CityU 9440296), City University of Hong Kong Internal Fund for ITF Projects (Grant No. 9678148), City University of Hong Kong Donation Research Grants (Grant Nos. DON-RMG 9229021 and 9220061), and City University of Hong Kong Strategic Research Grant (SRG) (Grant No. 7005505).

Research Keywords

Alumina films
Film density
High power impulse magnetron sputtering
Kilovolt pulsed bias

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10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140611

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@article{dde93d6af053473496d8e6896789f0a2,

title = "Dense Al2O3 films prepared by high power impulse magnetron sputtering at pulsed kV bias",

abstract = "Al2O3 films are often used in electronic and other devices for surface protection due to their excellent insulating and mechanical properties, but these properties depend on the film density. Conventional magnetron sputtering used industrially to deposit Al2O3 films faces challenges in density regulation, and many Al2O3 coatings have poor densities. Herein, negative kV biases are applied to the substrate in high-power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) to produce the desirable high-energy ions to densify the Al2O3 films. Our results indicate that the high pulsed bias also mitigates arcing during the deposition of insulating alumina films. By increasing the pulsed voltage, the film density increases, resulting in higher optical transparency, better insulating and mechanical properties, as well as superior corrosion resistance. {\textcopyright} 2025 Elsevier B.V. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies. ",

keywords = "Alumina films, Film density, High power impulse magnetron sputtering, Kilovolt pulsed bias",

author = "Dongjie Yang and Yaoyao Liu and Xiang Zhang and Shusheng Chen and Xiaowei Wang and Yu Liao and Xiaokai An and Yanfei Zhao and Lingjie Chen and Suihan Cui and Liangliang Liu and Fu, \{Ricky K Y\} and Chu, \{Paul K\} and Zhongzhen Wu",

year = "2025",

month = feb,

day = "1",

doi = "10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140611",

language = "English",

volume = "811",

journal = "Thin Solid Films",

issn = "0040-6090",

publisher = "Elsevier B.V.",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - Dense Al2O3 films prepared by high power impulse magnetron sputtering at pulsed kV bias

AU - Yang, Dongjie

AU - Liu, Yaoyao

AU - Zhang, Xiang

AU - Chen, Shusheng

AU - Wang, Xiaowei

AU - Liao, Yu

AU - An, Xiaokai

AU - Zhao, Yanfei

AU - Chen, Lingjie

AU - Cui, Suihan

AU - Liu, Liangliang

AU - Fu, Ricky K Y

AU - Chu, Paul K

AU - Wu, Zhongzhen

PY - 2025/2/1

Y1 - 2025/2/1

N2 - Al2O3 films are often used in electronic and other devices for surface protection due to their excellent insulating and mechanical properties, but these properties depend on the film density. Conventional magnetron sputtering used industrially to deposit Al2O3 films faces challenges in density regulation, and many Al2O3 coatings have poor densities. Herein, negative kV biases are applied to the substrate in high-power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) to produce the desirable high-energy ions to densify the Al2O3 films. Our results indicate that the high pulsed bias also mitigates arcing during the deposition of insulating alumina films. By increasing the pulsed voltage, the film density increases, resulting in higher optical transparency, better insulating and mechanical properties, as well as superior corrosion resistance. © 2025 Elsevier B.V. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.

AB - Al2O3 films are often used in electronic and other devices for surface protection due to their excellent insulating and mechanical properties, but these properties depend on the film density. Conventional magnetron sputtering used industrially to deposit Al2O3 films faces challenges in density regulation, and many Al2O3 coatings have poor densities. Herein, negative kV biases are applied to the substrate in high-power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) to produce the desirable high-energy ions to densify the Al2O3 films. Our results indicate that the high pulsed bias also mitigates arcing during the deposition of insulating alumina films. By increasing the pulsed voltage, the film density increases, resulting in higher optical transparency, better insulating and mechanical properties, as well as superior corrosion resistance. © 2025 Elsevier B.V. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.

KW - Alumina films

KW - Film density

KW - High power impulse magnetron sputtering

KW - Kilovolt pulsed bias

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85215830901

UR - https://www.scopus.com/record/pubmetrics.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85215830901&origin=recordpage

U2 - 10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140611

DO - 10.1016/j.tsf.2025.140611

M3 - RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal

SN - 0040-6090

VL - 811

JO - Thin Solid Films

JF - Thin Solid Films

M1 - 140611

ER -

Dense Al₂O₃ films prepared by high power impulse magnetron sputtering at pulsed kV bias

Abstract

Funding

Research Keywords

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DON_RMG: Fabrication, Characterization, and Properties of Functional Materials - RMGS

DON: Surface Modification and Fabrication of Advanced Materials

ITF: Study on the Preparation of High Voltage Insulation Materials for 5G Antenna Chip Components

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