COPPER NITRIDE THIN-FILMS PREPARED BY RADIOFREQUENCY REACTIVE SPUTTERING

Copper nitride thin films were obtained by the reactive sputtering met hod. A metallic copper target was sputtered in nitrogen gas with radio -frequency (rf) magnetron sputtering equipment. Highly [100]-oriented polycrystalline films of the cubic anti-ReO3 structure were obtained. Films with a lattice constant above 3.868 Angstrom were conductors, wh ile films with a lattice constant below 3.868 Angstrom were insulators . The resistivity of conducting films was 0.5-3X10(-2) Omega cm. The i nsulating films showed an optical energy gap of 1.3 eV, while the cond ucting films showed a smaller value which decreased with decreasing re sistivity. (C) 1995 American Institute of Physics.