Structural characterization of AlN thin film deposited on a single crystal of Al2O3(0001) substrate

Abstract The structure of an AlN thin film deposited on an Al 2 O 3 substrate was examined using symmetric and grazing incident X-ray diffraction (GID). Line profile analysis was applied to obtain quantitative structural information from a single peak. The orientational relationship between the thin film and the substrate is AlN(0001)∥Al 2 O 3 (0001) and AlN[1010]∥Al 2 O 3 [1120]. A disordered arrangement is observed inside of the mosaic block of which the collective effect may cause macroscopic residual stresses in the film.