T.J. Kinder

Deposition of TiN, TiC, and TiO2 films by filtered arc evaporation

Abstract A filtered arc deposition process was used in the reactive deposition of macroparticle-free TiO 2 , TiN, and TiC films. The TiO 2 films were reactively deposited by arc evaporation of titanium in an oxygen atmosphere. The films deposited onto glass substrates heated to 350 °C had a rutile structure and a refractive index n 6.33 of 2.735 and extinction coefficient k 6.33 of 0.07. Films of TiN and TiC were prepared by reactive evaporation in nitrogen and methane respectively. The lattice parameters and preferred orientations of the deposited films were measured as a function of negative substrate bias. The films were characterized by microhardness measurements, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction.

The properties of TiN films deposited by filtered arc evaporation

Abstract Titanium nitride films were deposited on steel and silicon substrates using a filtered arc evaporation process. The microhardness, crystallite size, residual stress, adhesion, surface roughness and crystallographic orientation of the films were studied as a function of substrate bias over the range 0 to -400 V. The mechanical and structural properties were found to depend upon the degree of substrate bias. The spectral reflectance in the region between 250 and 2500 nm was measured and compared with Kr + ion-assisted deposited TiN films. In addition, the electrical resistivity and the superconducting transition temperature of the filtered arc deposited TiN films were measured to be 20 μΩ cm and 4.3 K respectively.

Ion-beam-deposited films produced by filtered arcevaporation

Abstract A filtered arc evaporation source has been used to deposit films of carbon, aluminium, Al2O3, AIN, vanadium, VN, VO2, titanium, TiN, copper, zirconium, ZrO2, ZrN and steel. The films are of high optical quality and free of macroparticles. The microhardness of the deposited films has been measured and found to range from 1040 HV 5 for ZrO2 to 3600 HV 5 for carbon. The optical properties of deposited ZrO2 and Al2O3 have been measured and found to be equivalent to the values reported for evaporated and ion-plated films. The deposition rates have been estimated at 40 μm h−1 for titanium and 35 μm h −1 for Al2O3. The process is found to be a practical high rate deposition technique suitable for the deposition of a wide range of technologically important materials.

Optical and mechanical properties of carbon nitride films prepared by ion-assisted arc deposition and magnetron sputtering

Abstract Carbon nitride films have been prepared by two different types of coating technique: ion-assisted arc deposition and magnetron sputtering. The optical properties and microhardness of the formed carbon nitride films were studied. The results showed that, by both methods, nitrogen could be incorporated into the films to a maximum N-to-C ratio of 0.5. The refractive index and reflectance of the films were found to decrease as the nitrogen content in the films increased, while the extinction coefficient did not change significantly. When the N 2 gas was replaced in the deposition process by H 2 gas, the films became more transparent. The microhardness of the films was also decreased with increasing nitrogen content and decreased further when the nitrogen was incorporated into films by higher energy N + ion bombardment. In the magnetron sputtering, the sputtering power had a marked effect on the optical properties of the formed films.

Characterization of the Optical Properties and Composition of TiNx Thin Films by Spectroscopic Ellipsometry and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy

Thin films of TiN x with 0.34 < x < 1.19 were deposited on silicon substrates by a filtered arc deposition process. Spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) in the energy region 1.5-3.5 eV was used to measure the optical properties of the films. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to determine the relative atomic concentration and the chemical states of the elements. The dielectric function e(ω) measured by ellipsometry gives the optical response of TiN x films and valuable information on their chemical composition, which is also verified by XPS. The plasma energy ω p of TiN x films was found to depend strongly on the N/Ti ratio and this is correlated with the value of x as determined by XPS and Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS). The results show that, via the calibration, spectroscopic ellipsometry may be used to estimate the stoichiometry of deposited TiN x films.

The deposition of thin films by filtered arc evaporation

Abstract The principles of macroparticle filtering in arc evaporation sources are reviewed. The use of passive filtering, internal and external magnetic fields is discussed. The technique of filtering using the magnetic plasma duct is reviewed in detail with emphasis on the properties of deposited films. The filtered arc technique is seen to be a useful method for the deposition of metals, nitrides and oxide films.

Control of film properties during filtered arc deposition

Abstract Titanium nitride films may be deposited by filtered arc deposition (FAD) onto heated substrates or by ion assisted arc deposition (IAAD) onto unheated substrates. The stress and microhardness of the deposited films are strongly dependent upon the bias applied to the substrate in FAD. In the case of FAD onto substrates heated to 400 °C, an increasingly negative substrate bias results in a decrease in film compressive stress from 10 to 2 GPa. In the case of nitrogen IAAD onto ambient temperature substrates, the film properties are influenced by the nature of the assisting ion beam, specifically the energy and the relative arrival ratio. The stress ranges from 1 to 7 GPa and the hardness from 26 to 38 GPa. Pronounced effects are also observed in the development of preferred orientation. When the assisting N ion energy is increased from 500 to 1200 eV the orientation changes from (111) to (220). The stress evolution of the arc deposited films may be qualitatively understood in terms of the generalised model for momentum transfer, modified to account for the increased energy of the condensing particles generated by the arc process.

The deposition of TiN thin films by nitrogen ion assisted deposition of Ti from a filtered cathodic arc source

Abstract TiN films are synthesised on ambient temperature substrates by condensing Ti+ ions from a filtered cathodic arc source beam under 500 eV N+2 nitrogen ion bombardment. The film stoichiometry was varied from a N:Ti ratio of 0.8 to 1.2 by controlling the relative arrival rates of Ti and nitrogen ions. The compressive stress in 120 nm thick films deposited onto Si was found to decrease from a maximum of 10 GPa under no ion bombardment to a minimum of 6 GPa for an arrival ratio of 1.0. In the absence of ion bombardment the composition of the films was found to depend on the partial pressure of nitrogen over the range 0.6–2 Pa where the N:Ti ratio changed from 0.3 and saturated at approximately 0.8. Collision cascade models are used to describe the evolution of compressive stress as a function of arrival ratio, the damage depth distribution due to Ti+ ions and N+ ions and the composition of the TiN films.

Characteristics of TiB2 films prepared by ion beam sputtering

Abstract TiB 2 films have been prepared by ion beam sputtering. Substrate temperature ranged from ambient temperature (50 °C) to 480 °C. Atomic force microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and an ultramicroindentation system were used to characterize the deposited films. It was found that films deposited at both ambient temperature and elevated temperature are smooth and have the same B:Ti ratio of 1.8. The films deposited at ambient temperature are amorphous, whereas films deposited at 480 °C are principally crystalline TiB 2 with a hexagonal structure. The crystallized TiB 2 films exhibit a strong (101) preferred orientation. In addition, the lattice parameter of the deposited films decreases with increasing substrate temperature. The ultramicroindentation tests showed that the hardness of the deposited films increases with increasing substrate temperature. The crystalline TiB 2 films deposited at 480 °C have a very high microhardness of about 48 GPa, equivalent to 4400 kgf mm −2 Vickers hardness.

In situ stress measurements of ion‐assisted MgF2 and SiOx thin films

An in situ stress measuring interferometer and in situ ellipsometer have been used to study the stress evolution and optical properties of MgF2 and SiOx optical thin films prepared by electron beam evaporation and 100 eV O+2 ion‐assisted deposition (IAD). The maximum stress observed in thermal evaporation of MgF2 was found to be 240 MPa. The tensile stress in evaporated MgF2 could be modified by IAD to compressive stress. The optical properties and stress of SiOx were modified by IAD and also by the presence of a partial pressure of oxygen. The combination of stress interferometry and ellipsometry is shown to be a powerful method of monitoring and controlling the properties of optical materials deposited by IAD.