Tailoring of structual, optical, and electrical properties of Cu films by sputtering power and deposition atmosphere

In order to effectively modify the structure and optical-electric properties of Cu films and thus provide guidance for the development of high-performance transparent electrodes based on ultrathin Cu films, different thicknesses of Cu films were prepared by magnetron sputtering under three different sputtering powers and atmospheres (34 W and Ar, 136 W and Ar, and 34 W and Ar + H2). The results show that both increasing the sputtering power and introducing H2 into the sputtering atmosphere can improve film crystallinity, electrically conductive properties, and transparency of the film. Increasing the sputtering power can increase deposition rate, decrease surface roughness, improve stability in air, and help the formation of continuous films, but introducing H2 into the sputtering atmosphere can decrease deposition rate, increase surface roughness, degrade stability in the air, and hinder the formation of continuous films. In addition, the mechanisms of increasing the sputtering power or introducing H2 to affect the crystallinity, surface roughness, and the formation of continuous films are discussed.