Thickness effect on properties of titanium film deposited by d.c. magnetron sputtering and electron beam evaporation techniques

• Published in: Bulletin of materials science 2013-10, Vol.36 (5), p.807-812
• Main Authors: ARSHI, NISHAT, LU, JUNQING, LEE, CHAN GYU, YOON, JAE HONG, KOO, BON HEUN, AHMED, FAHEEM
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Atomic force microscopy; Chemistry and Materials Science; Deposition; Electrical resistivity; Electron beams; Electrons; Engineering; Evaporation; Field emission microscopy; Field emission spectroscopy; Glass substrates; Grain size; Ion beams; Magnetic properties; Magnetron sputtering; Materials Science; Metal films; Morphology; Photoelectrons; Photomicrographs; Preferred orientation; Silicon dioxide; Silicon nitride; Silicon substrates; Structural analysis; Symmetry; Thickness; Titanium; X ray photoelectron spectroscopy; X-ray diffraction; X-rays
• ISSN: 0250-4707; 0973-7669
• DOI: 10.1007/s12034-013-0552-2

This paper reports effect of thickness on the properties of titanium (Ti) film deposited on Si/SiO 2 (100) substrate using two different methods: d.c. magnetron sputtering and electron beam (e-beam) evaporation technique. The structural and morphological characterization of Ti film were performed using X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). XRD pattern revealed that the films deposited using d.c. magnetron sputtering have HCP symmetry with preferred orientation along (002) plane, while those deposited with e-beam evaporation possessed fcc symmetry with preferred orientation along (200) plane. The presence of metallic Ti was also confirmed by XPS analysis. FESEM images depicted that the finite sized grains were uniformly distributed on the surface and AFM micrographs revealed roughness of the film. The electrical resistivity measured using four-point probe showed that the film deposited using d.c. magnetron sputtering has lower resistivity of ∼13  μ Ωcm than the film deposited using e-beam evaporation technique, i.e. ∼60  μ Ωcm. The hardness of Ti films deposited using d.c. magnetron sputtering has lower value (∼7·9 GPa) than the film deposited using e-beam technique (∼9·4 GPa).