Scientists Develop 4-Inch AMSE System

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The Quantum Functional Materials Group at the Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering (NIMTE), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), has developed a 4-inch atomic-scale magnetron sputtering epitaxy (AMSE) system, enabling the wafer-scale epitaxy of high-quality single-crystalline films.

The study was published in Moore and More.

Large-scale single-crystalline thin-film epitaxy systems are essential for integrated circuits, quantum technologies, and advanced materials. However, conventional epitaxial techniques such as molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) face significant challenges in growing large-area single-crystalline transition-metal nitride films, including low nitrogen generation efficiency and a lack of suitable chemical precursors.

To address these challenges, Prof. CAO Yanwei and colleagues at NIMTE have devoted eight years of sustained research. To overcome the conventional limitations of magnetron sputtering in producing large-scale single-crystalline thin films, the team proposed and developed the AMSE technique.

Based on this concept, they developed a 4-inch AMSE system, with which they synthesized a series of high-quality 4-inch epitaxial AlScN films and single-crystalline AlScN/TiN heterostructures.

The AlScN films grown directly on sapphire substrates exhibited an exceptionally narrow full width at half maximum (FWHM) of only 0.02° in their X-ray rocking curves, demonstrating outstanding crystalline quality.

Furthermore, introducing a TiN buffer layer enabled the epitaxial growth of AlScN films at temperatures as low as 100 °C—the lowest epitaxy temperature reported to date. This highlights the system's capabilities for wafer-scale, high-quality, and low-temperature epitaxial growth.

By combining the scalability and versatility of magnetron sputtering with the capability for high-quality single-crystalline epitaxial growth, the AMSE system provides a promising pathway for fabricating functional thin films and heterostructures, opening new opportunities for advanced materials research and the development of next-generation electronic and quantum devices.