Structural characterization of TiN coatings on Si substrates irradiated with Ar ions

Abstract: The present study deals with TiN/Si bilayers irradiated at room temperature (RT) with 120 keV Ar ions. The TiN layers were deposited by d.c. reactive sputtering on Si(100) wafers to a thickness of ∼240 nm. After deposition the TiN/Si bilayers were irradiated to the fluences of 1×1015 ions/cm2 and 1×1016 ions/cm2. Structural characterization was performed with Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS), cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (XTEM), grazing angle X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The results showed that the variation of the lattice constants, mean grain size and micro-strain can be attributed to the formation of the high density damage region in the TiN film structure. It has been found that this damage region is mainly distributed within ∼100 nm at surface of the TiN layers. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]