Smoothing of Polycrystalline AlN Thin Films with Argon Cluster Ions

Surface modification of polycrystalline thin films of aluminum nitride using bombardment with an cluster ion beam has been investigated. The treatment has been performed using high-energy (105 eV/atom) and low-energy (10 eV/atom) argon cluster ions. High-efficiency smoothing of the nanostructured surface in a wide range of spatial frequencies ( v = 0.02–128 μm –1 ) at ultrasmall etching depth (<100 nm) is demonstrated by atomic force microscopy with the application of the power spectral density function of roughness.