Exceptions to the microstructure zone model revealed by the reactive d.c. magnetron sputter deposition of δ-TiNx thin films (original) (raw)
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Nitrogen-rich titanium nitride (TiN) thin films containing excess nitrogen up to 87.0 at.% were produced on (100) Si substrates via the reactive magnetron DC-sputtering of a commercially available 99.995 at.% pure Ti target within an argon-nitrogen (Ar-N2) atmosphere with a 20-to-1 gas ratio. The process pressure (PP) and substrate temperature (TS) at which deposition occurred were varied systematically between 0.26 Pa–1.60 Pa and between15.0∘C–600∘C, respectively, and their effects on the chemical composition, surface morphology, and preferred orientation were characterized by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The EDS analysis confirms increasing nitrogen content with increasingPPandTS. The SEM images reveal a uniform and crystallized surface morphology as well as a closely packed cross-sectional morphology for all crystalline films and a loosely packed cross-sectional morphology for amorph...
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In this work, the titanium nitride (TiN) thin films were prepared on Si-wafers by using the DC reactive magnetron sputtering from a pure titanium target. The influence of N2 flow rates, in the range of 1.0-4.0 sccm, on the as-deposited TiN film’s structure was characterized by several techniques. (i) The crystal structures were studied by GI-XRD. (ii) The film’s thicknesses, microstructures, and surface morphologies were analyzed by FE-SEM. (iii) The elemental composition of films was measured by EDS. (iv) The hardness was measured by the nano-indentation. (v) The color was identified by a UV-VIS spectrophotometer. The results showed that the as-deposited films were polycrystalline of B1-NaCl structure. The lattice constants were ranging from 4.211-4.239 Å. The as-deposited films showed a nano crystal size in the range of 17.8-24.6 nm. The thickness decreases from 1254 nm to 790 nm with following in the N2 flow rates. The concentration of Ti and N depended on the N2 flow rates. The ...
Surface & Coatings Technology, 2005
This paper reports on the preparation of TiN x thin films by d.c. reactive magnetron sputtering. The coating thickness ranged from 1.7 to 4.2 Am and the nitrogen content varied between 0 and 55 at.%. X-Ray diffraction showed the development of the hexagonal a-Ti phase, with strong [002] orientation for low nitrogen contents, where the N atoms fit into octahedral sites in the Ti lattice as the amount of nitrogen is increased. For nitrogen contents of 20 and 30 at.%, the q-Ti 2 N phase appears with [200] orientation. With further increasing the nitrogen content, the y-TiN phase becomes dominant. The electrical resistivity of the different compositions reproduces this phase behavior. The hardness of the samples varied from approximately 8 GPa for pure titanium up to 27 GPa for a nitrogen content of 30 at.%, followed by a slight decrease at the highest contents. A similar increase of stresses with nitrogen is observed. Structure and composition with the consequent changes in crystalline phases and the lattice distortion were found to be crucial in the evolution of the mechanical properties. D
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Titanium nitride coatings have been used very successfully in a variety of applications because of their excellent properties, such as hard and decorative coatings and also diffuse barriers in semiconductor technology. These coatings are of interest because they exhibit a number of properties similar to metals (such as goods electrical conductivity) while retaining characteristics (covalent bonds, hardness and melting point) found in insulating materials. In this work, TiN films have been deposited by RF reactive magnetron sputtering (13.56 MHz) from a titanium metallic target at different nitrogen partial pressures (4mTorr to 10mTorr).
Optical and chemical characterization of thin TiNx films deposited by DC-magnetron sputtering
Vacuum, 2008
Thin titanium nitride (TiN x) films were deposited on silicon substrates by means of a reactive DC-magnetron plasma. Layers were synthesized under various conditions of discharge power and nitrogen flows in two operation modes of the magnetron (the so-called ''balanced'' and ''unbalanced'' modes). The optical constants of the TiN x films were investigated by spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to determine the relative atomic concentration and chemical states of the TiN x films. The density and thickness of the films have been investigated by means of grazing incidence X-ray reflectometry (GIXR). The results of the layer analyses were combined with plasma investigations carried out by means of energy resolved mass spectrometry (ERMS) under the same conditions. It is shown that the magnetron mode has a clear influence on the titanium deposition rate and the incorporation of nitrogen into the layers.
Properties of titanium nitride films prepared by direct current magnetron sputtering
Materials Science and Engineering: A, 2007
Titanium nitride (TiN) thin films of different thickness were deposited by direct current (dc) magnetron sputtering under conditions of various N 2 concentrations (0.5-34%). The electrical, optical, structural, compositional and morphological properties of the films were studied and the results were discussed with respect to N 2 concentration and thickness of the films. At low N 2 concentration of 0.5% (of the total sputtering pressure 1.1 Pa), golden coloured stoichiometric TiN films were obtained and with increase in the N 2 concentration non-stoichiometric TiN x phases resulted. However, irrespective of the N 2 concentration, the TiN stoichiometry in the films increased with increase in the film thickness. In the surface of the films the presence of nitride (TiN), oxynitride (TiO x N y ) and oxide (TiO 2 ) phases were observed and the quantity of these phases varied with the N 2 concentration and thickness. The films of lower thickness were found to be amorphous and the crystallinity was observed in the films with increase in the thickness. The crystalline films showed reflections corresponding to the (1 1 1), (2 0 0) and (2 2 0) orientation of the cubic TiN and also features associated with TiN x phases. The transmission spectra of the films revealed the typical characteristics of the TiN films i.e. a narrow transmission band, however, the width varied with thickness, in the wavelength range of 300-600 nm and exhibited low transmission in the infrared region. The TiN films deposited at low N 2 concentration of 0.5% showed smooth and uniform morphology with densely packed crystallites. With increase in N 2 concentration various characteristics such as needle type crystallization, bubble precipitates and after bubble burst morphologies were observed in the films. However, at higher N 2 concentration conditions, uniformity developed in the films with increase in thickness.
Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology A: Vacuum, Surfaces, and Films, 2006
A hybrid plasma enhanced physical vapor deposition ͑PEPVD͒ system consisting of an unbalanced dc magnetron and a pulsed electron beam-produced plasma was used to deposit reactively sputtered titanium nitride thin films. The system allowed for control of the magnitudes of the ion and neutral flux, in addition to the type of nitrogen ions ͑atomic or molecular͒ that comprised the flux. For all deposition experiments, the magnitude of the ion flux incident on the substrate was held constant, but the composition of the total flux was varied. X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy showed that crystallographic texture and surface morphology of the films were affected by the plasma flux composition during growth.