Deposition characteristics of Ti-Si-N films reactively sputtered from various targets in a N-2/Ar gas mixture

The deposition characteristics of Ti-Si-N films obtained by using RF reacti ve sputtering of various targets in N-2/Ar gas mixtures have been investiga ted. The dependence of film growth rate and stoichiometry on both the Ti/Si ratio of the target and the N-2 flow rate were found to be due to the diff erent nitridation rates of Ti and Si, resulting in different sputter yields of titanium and silicon nitrides. XPS results showed that an increase in n itrogen content of the Ti-Si-N films leads to the formation of amorphous Si 3N4 bonding, which produces an increase in resistivity. Lowering the Si con tent in the deposited Ti-Si-N films favors the formation of crystalline TiN , even at low N-2 flow rates, and leads to a lower resistivity. A film grow th mechanism, expressed in terms of the nitrogen surface coverage on the ta rget, was proposed.