THE DEPOSITION OF TIN THIN-FILMS BY NITROGEN ION-ASSISTED DEPOSITION OF TI FROM A FILTERED CATHODIC ARC SOURCE

TiN films are synthesised on ambient temperature substrates by condens ing Ti+ ions from a filtered cathodic are 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 de posited onto Si was found to decrease from a maximum of 10 GPa under n o ion bombardment to a minimum of 6 GPa for an arrival ratio of 1.0. I n the absence of ion bombardment the composition of the films was foun d to depend on the partial pressure of nitrogen over the range 0.6-2 P a 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 c ompressive stress as a function of arrival ratio, the damage depth dis tribution due to Ti+ ions and N+ ions and the composition of the TiN f ilms.