Titanium oxide and nitride films containing various amount of oxygen and nitrogen have been prepared by means of reactive sputtering method. Changing the partial pressure of oxygen and nitrogen from 5 × 10
-7 to 5 × 10
-3 Torr in argon gas (total pressure was maintained at 5× 10
-3Torr), the deposition rate, electrical resistivity, structure and chemical composition of sputtered films have been observed.
When the partial pressures of oxygen and nitrogen in the sputtered gas were increased, the deposition rate of films began to decrease drastically at the specific partial pressures. In particular, two limiting pressures at which the deposition rates changed drastically were observed to exist in the case of titanium-nitrogen sputtering system.The electrical resistivity of the films also began to change rapidly at the same limiting pressures. In the X-ray diffraction analysis, it was found that TiO and TiN appeared suddenly in the sputtered films at the specific pressures of reactive gases.
The ultimate analysis of the sputtered films also have been made by means of the sputter-etching technique and Auger electron spectroscopy.
On the basis of the experimental data, discussion was made on the deposition rate of the films by applying our theoretical model.
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