Using Electron Cyclotron Resonance Plasma for Depositing Epitaxial Titanium Nitride Thin Films

We have employed a 2.45 GHz electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma source to deposit single-crystal thin films of titanium nitride onto MgO substrates of (100) orientation. During deposition the ECR plasma beam delivering a mixture of excited species of molecular and atomic nitrogen ions, strikes a substrate while an electron beam deposits on the same substrate species of titanium. We have studied the formation of films at substrate temperatures of 200, 400, and 600°C, as well as at room temperature. X-Ray diffraction (XRD) revealed that a cubic Bl phase of titanium nitride forms predominantly at all the temperatures explored. Both channeling and Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS) showed epitaxial layers forming at the temperature as low as 400°C. The minimum relative backscattering yield, χmin decreased as the temperature increased, with the best result of 7.3% obtained for the film deposited at 600°C. Biasing the substrates with either negative or positive voltage at room temperature directly affects film crystallography.