The rapidly growing number of wireless sensor networks (IoT) necessitates the mass application of autonomous sensor nodes, where the energy harvesters convert the energy from various form (heat, vibration, electromagnetic wave etc.) into electrical current. Aluminum nitride is a promising piezoelectric material both for sensors and vibrational energy harvesters, because of its compatibility with microelectronic technology and stability at high temperature and harsh environment.  

In generally AlN is applied in form of thin film for vibrational energy harvesters and is deposited most frequently by reactive ion sputtering deposition, because it is a low temperature, low-cost method with high output. However, the quality of thin film made by this technology is strongly depends on the deposition parameters such as process pressure, gas ratio, input power, substrate to target distance, substrate temperature etc.

In the frame of the diploma work, carrying out at MFA's Nanosensor Laboratory at Center for Energy Research, the MSc applicant is expected to characterize the morphology, piezoelectric properties, and elemental composition of sputtered nitride layers using Scanning Probe Microscopy (SPM), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX), and profilometry. As a result, optimal deposition parameters on our pulsed DC magnetron sputtering system are to be concluded for high quality piezoelectric nitride film production.