ION-ASSISTED DEPOSITION OF CRYSTALLINE TINI THIN-FILMS BY ELECTRON-CYCLOTRON-RESONANCE PLASMA-ENHANCED SPUTTERING

Electron-cyclotron-resonance plasma enhanced sputtering with magnetic- mirror plasma confinement is characterized by low working pressures an d large ion flux densities. TiNi thin films were deposited by this tec hnique onto preheated Si (111) substrates. The crystal structure and c omposition of the films were analyzed by X-ray diffraction and Rutherf ord backscattering spectrometry, respectively. The substrate temperatu re T-cr necessary for deposition of crystalline TiNi films was determi ned as a function of the ion-to-metal flux ratio j(ion)/j(Ti+Ni) and i on energy E-i. T-cr as low as 555K was found for j(ion)/j(Ti+Ni) = 3.9 and E-i = 150eV. Substrate temperatures higher than T-cr resulted in a textured crystal structure. Factors affecting the composition of the deposited thin films are also discussed.