Amorphous/Nanocrystalline High-Entropy CoCrFeNiTi_x Thin Films with Low Thermal Coefficient of Resistivity Obtained via Magnetron Deposition

Abstract

High-entropy alloys are promising materials for novel thin-film resistors since they have high resistivity and a low-temperature coefficient of resistivity (TCR). In this work, a new high-entropy thin-film CoCrFeNiTix was deposited on a Si/SiO2 substrate by means of magnetron sputtering of the multi-component target produced by hot pressing of the powder mixture. The samples possessed a thickness of 130–230 nm and an amorphous atomic structure with nanocrystallite traces. This structure persisted after being annealed up to 400 °C, which was confirmed using X-ray and electron diffraction. The film had a single-phase structure with a smooth surface and a uniform distribution of all elements. The obtained film served for microresistor elaboration, which was produced using the lithography technique and tested in a temperature range from −60 °C up to 200 °C. Resistivity at room temperature was estimated as 2.37 μOhm·m. The results have demonstrated that TCR depends on temperature according to the simple linear law in a range from −60 °C up to 130 °C, changing its value from −78 ppm/°C at low temperatures to −6.6 ppm/°C at 130 °C. Such characteristics show the possibility of using these high-entropy alloy films for resistive elements in contemporary and future micro-electronic devices.

Keywords

• high-entropy alloy
• amorphous structure
• magnetron sputtering
• thin films
• resistors
• microelectronic devices