STRUCTURE OF THIN-FILMS OF TITANIUM NITRIDE

The micro- and picostructures of TiN films deposited by magnetron sput tering are compared with their properties and deposition conditions. T he transition from porous to compact films and the changes in their mi crohardness, lattice parameters and microstrains are controlled by the temperature of deposition, gas pressure and energy of ion bombardment . The extended crystallographic anisotropy of inhomogeneous lattice de formations is a new phenomenon in which thin polycrystalline films dif fer from bulk stress-free materials.