Dresden 2026 – scientific programme
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DS: Fachverband Dünne Schichten
DS 11: Layer Deposition
DS 11.2: Talk
Wednesday, March 11, 2026, 09:45–10:00, REC/B214
Epitaxial growth of wurtzite Al1−xHfxN thin films by reactive magnetron sputtering — •Valentin Walbrunn1,2, Laura I. Wagner1,2, Verena Streibel1,2, Mingyun Yuan3, and Ian D. Sharp1,2 — 1Walter Schottky Institute, Technical University of Munich, Germany — 2Physics Department, TUM School of Natural Sciences, Germany — 3Paul-Drude-Institut für Festkörperelektronik, Leibniz-Institut im Forschungsverbund Berlin e.V., Germany
Ternary nitrides such as transition metal (TM) wurtzite Al1−xTMxN compounds offer great potential for future electromechanical and ferroelectric devices. While this class of materials is exemplified by Al1−xScxN, alternative TM elements such as Hf, Zr, and Ti remain largely underexplored, despite predictions of increased piezoelectric responses and the benefit of reduced reliance on rare earth elements. In this work, we explore reactive magnetron co-sputtering of wurtzite aluminum hafnium nitride (Al1−xHfxN) to achieve epitaxial thin films suitable for high-frequency surface acoustic wave (SAW) applications. We tune the Hf content by scaling the power applied to the metallic Hf and Al targets in an Ar/N2 atmosphere and determine optimized conditions with Hf cation fractions up to 40 %. X-ray diffraction confirms the formation of a wurtzite phase with strong c-axis orientation, and rocking curve measurements indicate improved crystalline quality, comparable to sputtered Al1−xScxN. These films demonstrate epitaxial wurtzite Al1−xHfxN as a promising material platform for high-frequency SAW applications.
Keywords: Sputtering; Nitrides; Epitaxy; XRD; Piezoelectricity