Thin films from fast clusters:: golden TiN layers on a room temperature substrate

High quality titanium nitride films have been deposited on room temperature substrates by energetic cluster impact (ECI). Golden and very smooth TiN films can be produced, having a dense and nearly isotropic composition without any columnar structure. In the experiment, charged clusters-composed typically of several thousand TiN-are electrically accelerated and impinge with kinetic energies up to 20 keV onto a room temperature substrate. No other method can produce good TiN films at such a low temperature. Electron diffraction gives a nano-crystalline fcc structure and a slight <200> fiber texture. Elemental and chemical analysis was performed, as well as the mechanical properties measured. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.