Mechanical stresses in D.C. reactively sputtered Fe2O3 thin films

We investigated the effect of substrate temperature during deposition, of deposition rate, of oxygen content in the Ar + O 2 gas flow, of film thickness and of heat treatment of mechanical stresses in d.c. reactively sputtered thin films of Fe 2 O 3 on fused quartz substrates. On the basis of the results obtained some conclusions are drawn about the character and the origin of the mechanical stresses in such films. It is shown that it is possible to produce Fe 2 O 3 films free of mechanical stresses on quartz substrates by optimizing the deposition process or by additional heat treatment.