Properties of Insulating Thin Films Deposited by RF Sputtering

Abstract

The use of RF sputtering for the deposition of thin insulating films at relatively low temperatures (50° to 500°C) has been shown to yield films of very high quality. Methods for investigating the properties of RF-sputtered films are discussed in detail, and these indicate that such films are excellent stable insulators. Potential utility as an encapsulant for transistor structures has been demonstrated. Data for RF-sputtered SiO <inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf> and GSC-1 (an alumina borosilicate glass) are presented as examples of the properties obtained by this technique.