Influence of Al Content on the Properties of MgO Grown by Reactive Magnetron Sputtering

Abstract

Abstract In the present work, reactive magnetron sputtering in DC mode was used to grow complex oxide thin films, starting from two separate pure metal targets. A series of coatings was produced with a stoichiometry of the film ranging from MgO, over Mg x Al y O z to Al 2 O 3. The surface energy, crystallinity, hardness, refractive index, and surface roughness were investigated. A relationship between all properties studied and the Mg content of the samples was found. A critical compositional region for the Mg–Al–O system where all properties exhibit a change was noticed.