Structural and optical properties of Cr doped AlN thin films before and after ions implantation

Abstract Thin films of Chromium (Cr) doped Aluminum Nitride (AlN) have been prepared by radio frequency magnetron sputtering technique at room temperature and pressure conditions in a Nitrogen (N) atmosphere. One of the samples was left as-deposited and the other was irradiated with proton at a fluence of 1x1014 ions/cm2 at a dose of 335 keV. The impact of ions doping on the structural and optical characteristics were investigated systematically. RBS and XRD were utilized to study the stoichiometry, thickness and structural information of the thin films respectively. FTIR was utilized to understand the bonding chemistry of the specimens. We concluded that the optical properties of the thin films have been changed selectively with irradiation leaving by structural unaltered.