Fiber textures of titanium nitride and hafnium nitride thin films deposited by off-normal incidence magnetron sputtering

Titanium nitride (Ti-N) thin films are electrically and thermally conductive and have high hardness and corrosion resistance. Dense and defect-free Ti-N thin films have been widely used in the surface modification of cutting tools, wear resistance components, medical implantation devices, and microelectronics. In this study, Ti-N thin films were deposited by high power pulsed magnetron sputtering (HPPMS) and their plasma characteristics were analyzed. The ion energy of Ti species was varied by adjusting the substrate bias voltage, and its effect on the microstructure, residual stress, and adhesion of the thin films were studied. The results show that after the introduction of nitrogen gas, a Ti-N compound layer was formed on the surface of the Ti target, which resulted in an increase in the Ti target discharge peak power. In addition, the total flux of the Ti species decreased, and the ratio of the Ti ions increased. The Ti-N thin film deposited by HPPMS was dense and defect-free. When the energy of the Ti ions was increased, the grain size and surface roughness of the Ti-N film decreased, the residual stress increased, and the adhesion strength of the Ti-N thin film decreased.

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Tailoring Properties of Hafnium Nitride Thin Film via Reactive Gas-Timing RF Magnetron Sputtering for Surface Enhanced-Raman Scattering Substrates

Crystals ◽

10.3390/cryst12010078 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

pp. 78

Author(s):

Nguentra Sucheewa ◽

Winadda Wongwiriyapan ◽

Annop Klamchuen ◽

Michiko Obata ◽

Masatsugu Fujishige ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Thin Film ◽

Thin Films ◽

Grain Size ◽

Magnetron Sputtering ◽

Rf Magnetron Sputtering ◽

Sers Substrate ◽

Hafnium Nitride ◽

Surface Enhanced ◽

Surface Enhanced Raman ◽

Reactive Gas

This study successfully demonstrated the tailoring properties of hafnium nitride (HfN) thin films via reactive gas-timing (RGT) RF magnetron sputtering for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) substrate applications. The optimal RGT sputtering condition was investigated by varying the duration time of the argon and nitrogen gas sequence. The RGT technique formed thin films with a grain size of approximately 15 nm. Additionally, the atomic ratios of nitrogen and hafnium can be controlled between 0.24 and 0.28, which is greater than the conventional technique, resulting in a high absorbance in the long wavelength region. Moreover, the HfN thin film exhibited a high Raman signal intensity with an EF of 8.5 × 104 to methylene blue molecules and was capable of being reused five times. A superior performance of HfN as a SERS substrate can be attributed to its tailored grain size and chemical composition, which results in an increase in the hot spot effect. These results demonstrate that the RGT technique is a viable method for fabricating HfN thin films with controlled properties at room temperature, which makes them an attractive material for SERS and other plasmonic applications.

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