Effect of Deposition Parameters on the Properties of TiN Thin Films Deposited by rf Magnetron Sputtering

TiN thin films were deposited on a SiO2 (2000 angstrom)/Si substrate by radio-frequency(rf) magnetron sputtering. TiN films were prepared under varying N-2 concentration in N-2/Ar gas mix, rf power and gas pressure, and investigated in terms of deposition rate, resistivity and surface morphology. As N-2 concentration increased, the deposition rate and the surface roughness of the films decreased and the resistivity increased. With increasing rf power, the deposition rate increased but the resistivity was decreased. As gas pressure increased, little change in deposition rate was obtained but the resistivity rapidly increased. TiN film with resistivity of 2.46x10(-4) Omega m at 1 mTorr was formed. It was observed that there existed a correlation between the deposition rate and resistivity. In particular, the gas pressure has a strong influence on the resistivity of thin films.