Effect of nitrogen flow rate on the properties of TiN film deposited by e beam evaporation technique

• Published in: Applied surface science Vol. 258; no. 22; pp. 8498 - 8505
• Main Authors: Arshi, Nishat, Lu, Junqing, Koo, Bon Heun, Lee, Chan Gyu, Ahmed, Faheem
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01-09-2012; Elsevier
• Subjects: Condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties; Condensed matter: structure, mechanical and thermal properties; Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science; rheology; Deposition; e beam evaporation; Electrical resistivity; Exact sciences and technology; FESEM; Flow rate; Physics; Resistivity; Silicon substrates; Titanium dioxide; Titanium nitride; X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy; XPS; XRD; Titanium nitride; XPS; XRD; e beam evaporation; Resistivity; FESEM; Inorganic compounds; Electrical conductivity; Transition element compounds; Nitrogen; Electron beam evaporation; X-ray photoelectron spectra
• ISSN: 0169-4332; 1873-5584
• DOI: 10.1016/j.apsusc.2012.04.179

► Titanium nitride films with different nitrogen flow rates have been deposited at room temperature. ► The XRD results revealed the presence of strong FCC Ti (111) and TiN (200) phases. ► The XPS results shows presence of three groups of Ti 2p doublet. ► FESEM results showed a smooth morphology of the film with columnar grain structure. ► The electrical resistivity was found to decrease with the increase in nitrogen flow.
In this work, titanium nitride (TiN) films have been deposited by e beam evaporation technique on Si/SiO2 (100) substrates at room temperature. The influence of nitrogen flow rate (N2=0, 4, 6, 8 and 10sccm (standard cubic centimeter per minute)) on the structural, morphological and electrical properties of the TiN films has been studied. The deposited TiN films have been characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), XPS (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy), FESEM (Field emission scanning electron microscopy) and four-point probe resistivity measurement techniques. XRD patterns reveal FCC symmetry of the film with (111) preferred orientations for Ti film (N2=0sccm) and (200) preferred orientations for TiN film (N2=4, 6, 8 and 10sccm), respectively. The lattice parameters for TiN films are found to increase from 4.237Å to 4.239Å with the increase in nitrogen flow rate. The presence of different phases such as TiN, TiON and TiO2 were confirmed by XPS analysis. The FESEM images of the TiN films showed a smooth morphology with columnar grain structures. The grain size of the TiN films was found to increase as the nitrogen flow rate was increased from 4 to 10sccm. The electrical resistivity measurement showed that the resistivity of the film decreased from 333μΩcm to 111μΩcm on increasing nitrogen flow rate from 4 to10sccm.