2019, Menzel, S.B., Seifert, M., Priyadarshi, A., Rane, G.K., Park, E., Oswald, S., Gemming, T.

Developing advanced thin film materials is the key challenge in high-temperature applications of surface acoustic wave sensor devices. One hundred nanometer thick (Mo-La2O3) multilayer systems were fabricated at room temperature on thermally oxidized (100) Si substrates (SiO2/Si) to study the effect of lanthanum oxide on the electrical resistivity of molybdenum thin films and their high-temperature stability. The multilayer systems were deposited by the magnetron sputter deposition of extremely thin (≤1 nm) La interlayers in between adjacent Mo layers. After deposition of each La layer the process was interrupted for 25 to 60 min to oxidize the La using the residual oxygen in the high vacuum of the deposition chamber. The samples were annealed at 800 °C in high vacuum for up to 120 h. In case of a 1 nm thick La interlayer in-between the Mo a continuous layer of La2O3 is formed. For thinner La layers an interlayer between adjacent Mo layers is observed consisting of a (La2O3-Mo) mixed structure of molybdenum and nm-sized lanthanum oxide particles. Measurements show that the (Mo-La2O3) multilayer systems on SiO2/Si substrates are stable at least up to 800 °C for 120 h in high vacuum conditions.

2019, Brachmann, E., Seifert, M., Neumann, N., Alshwawreh, N., Uhlemann, M., Menzel, S.B., Acker, J., Herold, S., Hoffmann, V., Gemming, T.

In an effort to develop a cost-efficient technology for wireless high-temperature surface acoustic wave sensors, this study presents an evaluation of a combined method that integrates physical vapor deposition with electroless deposition for the fabrication of platinum-based planar antennas. The proposed manufacturing process becomes attractive for narrow, thick, and sparse metallizations for antennas in the MHz to GHz frequency range. In detail, narrow platinum-based lines of a width down to 40 μm were electroless-deposited on γ -Al2O3 substrates using different seed layers. At first, the electrolyte chemistry was optimized to obtain the highest deposition rate. Films with various thickness were prepared and the electrical resistivity, microstructure, and chemical composition in the as-prepared state and after annealing at temperatures up to 1100 °C were evaluated. Using these material parameters, the antenna was simulated with an electromagnetic full-wave simulation tool and then fabricated. The electrical parameters, including the S-parameters of the antenna, were measured. The agreement between the simulated and the realized antenna is then discussed.

2020, Seifert, M., Lattner, E., Menzel, S.B., Oswald, S., Gemming, T.

Ti-Al thin films with a thickness of 200 nm were prepared either by co-sputtering from elemental Ti and Al targets or as Ti/Al multilayers with 10 and 20 nm individual layer thickness on thermally oxidized Si substrates. Some of the films were covered with a 20-nm-thick SiO2 layer, which was used as an oxidation protection against the ambient atmosphere. The films were annealed at up to 800 °C in high vacuum for 10 h, and the phase formation as well as the film architecture was analyzed by X-ray diffraction, cross section, and transmission electron microscopy, as well as Auger electron and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results reveal that the co-sputtered films remained amorphous after annealing at 600 °C independent on the presence of the SiO2 cover layer. In contrast to this, the γ-TiAl phase was formed in the multilayer films at this temperature. After annealing at 800 °C, all films were degraded completely despite the presence of the cover layer. In addition, a strong chemical reaction between the Ti and SiO2 of the cover layer and the substrate took place, resulting in the formation of Ti silicide. In the multilayer samples, this reaction already started at 600 °C.