The influence of the growth rate on the preferred orientation of magnetron-sputtered Ti-Al-N thin films studied by in situ x-ray diffraction

Journal Article · Mon Aug 15 00:00:00 EDT 2005 · Journal of Applied Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1999829· OSTI ID:20714070

Beckers, M; Schell, N; Martins, R M.S.; Muecklich, A; Moeller, W ^[1]

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1. Institute of Ion Beam Physics and Materials Research, Forschungszentrum Rossendorf, P.O. Box 510119, 01314 Dresden (Germany)

In situ x-ray diffraction has been used to characterize the growth and microstructure of wear protective Ti{sub 1-x}Al{sub x}N thin films. The films were deposited onto oxidized Si(100) wafers in a sputter chamber mounted onto a six-circle goniometer located at a synchrotron-radiation beam line. Off-plane and in-plane x-ray diffraction data were recorded in situ during growth, in order to follow the development of microstructure and preferred orientation as a function of film thickness. The measurements were supplemented by ex situ cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy analyses. The films were deposited by reactive cosputtering from metallic Ti and Al targets in Ar/N{sub 2} gas mixtures at substrate temperatures of 150 and 300 deg. C, substrate bias voltages of -30 and +10 V, and deposition rates between 0.9 and 0.3 A/s. The film composition was changed between pure TiN and Ti{sub 0.91}Al{sub 0.09}N. Films deposited at higher deposition rates show columnar structure with competitive growth between (001) and (111) crystalline orientation, which slowly evolves into a (111) preferred orientation containing inter- and intracolumn porosities. Reducing the deposition rate to 0.3 A/s leads to an almost complete (001) preferred orientation with reduced surface roughness, practically independent of the deposition temperature. As the stress state of the films remains low for both deposition rates, it is suggested that the ion-to-neutral arrival rate (J{sub I}/J{sub Ti+Al}) determines the texture development rather than the stress. This is corroborated by applying a positive substrate bias, which, by suppressing ion impingement, leads back to an evolving (111) preferred orientation.

• OSTI ID: 20714070
• Journal Information: Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 98, Issue 4; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.1999829; (c) 2005 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-8979
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
ALUMINIUM COMPOUNDS
CRYSTAL GROWTH
CRYSTAL STRUCTURE
ELECTRIC POTENTIAL
GONIOMETERS
GRAIN ORIENTATION
IMPINGEMENT
POROSITY
ROUGHNESS
SPUTTERING
STRESSES
SUBSTRATES
SURFACE COATING
SYNCHROTRON RADIATION
TEXTURE
THIN FILMS
TITANIUM NITRIDES
TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
WEAR RESISTANCE
X-RAY DIFFRACTION