Crystallographic structure of δ-TiN films prepared by photon and ion beam assisted deposition

• Published in: Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section B, Beam interactions with materials and atoms Beam interactions with materials and atoms, 1996-06, Vol.113 (1), p.196-200
• Main Authors: Wengenmair, H., Gerlach, J.W., Preckwinkel, U., Stritzker, B., Rauschenbach, B.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0168-583X; 1872-9584
• DOI: 10.1016/0168-583X(95)01410-1

A newly developed facility for photon and ion beam assisted deposition was built and successfully tested for simultaneous deposition, ion bombardment and UV-light irradiation of thin films in a defined gas environment. This system was used to produce thin films of the cubic δ-TiN phase on Si(001) by the deposition of titanium in a nitrogen gas atmosphere and irradiation by Ar + ions. The effect of an additional UV-light irradiation during TiN deposition with and without ion bombardment was studied by X-ray diffraction pole figure measurements using synchrotron radiation. The results demonstrate that the UV-light irradiation during deposition without ion bombardment leads to stronger {111} oriented TiN films and the ion assisted deposition with simultaneous UV-light irradiation results in a distinct emphasis of the [001] orientation of the TiN crystallites. The irradiation with UV-light increases drastically the preferential alignment of the titanium nitride crystallites. As an important consequence, photon irradiation in combination with the well known ion beam assisted deposition is expected to have an advantageous influence on the structure of thin films.