Study of d.c. reactive sputtering deposition AlN films used for GaAs MESFET passivation

AlN films have been deposited on GaAs (100) wafers by d.c. magnetron reactive sputtering in a mixed Ar/N 2 discharge at room temperature. The effect of the preparation conditions (sputtering pressure, d.c. power and gas mixture) on the physical and chemical properties of the films is investigated. In order to get good AIN films used for GaAs MESFET passivation, the preparation condition is optimized.