Ion Beam Modification of Reactively Sputtered Tin Thin Films

A study of ion beam modification of structural and electrical properties of TiN thin films is presented. The layers, were deposited by reactive ion sputtering on (100) Si substrates to a thickness of similar to 240 nm. After deposition the structures were implanted with argon ions at 120 keV, to the fluences from 1 x 10(15) - 1 x 10(16) ions/cm(2). Structural analysis of the samples was performed by cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry. It was found that the as-deposited layers have a columnar structure, individual columns stretching from the substrate to the surface and being a few tells of nanometers wide. Ion irradiation rearranges their crystalline structure, which remains polycrystalline, but the columns are broken, and nanocrystals of the same phase are formed.Publications of the Astronomical Observatory of Belgrade Series, 24th Summer School and International Symposium on Physics of Ionized Gases, Aug 25-29, 2008, Novi Sad, Serbi