Ion beam assisted deposition of TiN thin films on Si substrate

In this paper we present a study of the formation of TiN thin films during the IBAD process. We have analyzed the effects of process parameters such as Ar+ ion energy, ion incident angle, Ti evaporation rates and partial pressure of N-2 on preferred orientation and resistivity of TiN layers. TiN thin films were grown by evaporation of Ti in the presence of N-2 and simultaneously bombarded with Ar+ ions. Base pressure in the IBAD chamber was 1(.)10(-6) mbar. The partial pressure of Ar during deposition was (3.1 - 6.6)(.)10(-6) mbar and partial pressure of N-2 was 6.0(.)10(-6) - 1.1(.)10(-5) mbar. The substrates used were Si (100) wafers. TiN thin layers were deposited to a thickness of 85 - 360 nm at deposition rates of Ti from 0.05 to 0.25nm/s. Argon ion energy was varied from 1.5 to 2.0 keV and the angle of ion beam incidence from 0 to 30 degrees. All samples were analyzed by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS). The changes in concentration profiles of titanium, nitrogen and silicon were determined with 900 keV He++ ion beam. The RBS spectra were analyzed with the demo version of WiNDF code. We have also used X-ray diffraction (XRD) for phase identification. The resistivity of samples was measured with four-point probe method. The results clearly show that TiN thin layer grows with (111) and (200) preferred orientation, depending on the IBAD deposition parameters. Consequently, the formation of TiN thin layers with well-controlled crystalline orientation occurs. Also, it was found that the variations in TiN film resistivity could be mainly attributed to the ion beam induced damage during the IBAD process.Recent Developments in Advanced Materials and Processes, 7th Conference of the Yugoslav-Materials-Research-Society (Yu-MRS), Sep 12-16, 2005, Herceg Novi, Montenegr