Electrical Properties of Ti-Si0_2 Cermet Thin Films : Prepared by R. F. Plasma Sputtering

Ti-SiO_2 cermet thin films were deposited onto a glass substrate by R. F. sputtering from a Ti-SiO_2 composite target， on which the SiO_2 area ratio was varied to obtain different compositions. The cermet thin films sputtered from the target composed of 16％ SiO_2-84％ Tiarea ratios showed a resistivity of 220±10μΩ-cm and a temperature coefficient of nearly zero The thin films sputtered from the target given a greater SiO_2 area ratio than 16％ showed negative temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR), and those from the target given a smaller SiO_2 area ratio showed positive TCR values. The study on the electrical conduction in these cermet thin films suggested that the mechanism by a capillary model was dominant for the films with positive TCRs and the mechanism by a thermally agitated hopping process was predominant for the films with negative TCRs