Structural changes induced by argon ion irradiation in TiN thin films

In this work, the effects of 120 keV Ar+ ion implantation on the structural properties of TiN thin films were investigated. TiN layers were deposited by d.c. reactive sputtering on Si(100) wafers at room temperature or at 150°C. The thickness of TiN layers was ~240 nm. After deposition the samples were irradiated with 120 keV argon ions to the fluencies of 1×10^15 and 1×10^16 ions/cm2. Structural characterisation was performed with Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS), cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (XTEM), grazing angle X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). It was found that the argon ion irradiation induced the changes in the lattice constant, mean grain size, micro-strain and surface morphology of the TiN layers. The observed micro-structural changes are due to the formation of the high density damage region in the TiN thin film structure