Electrical and Structural Properties of Non-Reactive Dual Magnetron Sputter Deposited W–C Thin Films for MOSFET Gates

W–C thin films were prepared by non-reactive magnetron co-sputtering simultaneously from pure tungsten and carbon targets in an argon atmosphere at room temperature on Si(100) substrate. The main purpose of the present work was to investigate the influence of deposition method and annealing process on structural and electrical properties of the tungsten carbide thin films. The experimental results show that the growth rate of films was about 5.46 nm/min; the films have spherical granular structure. Hexagonal W2C appeared when the annealing temperature was 700 and 800°C and W : C atomic ratio of 1.18. Moreover, grain size of W2C films was about 8.1 and 11.7 nm after annealing at 700 and 800°C, respectively. Resistivity of films was relatively high, possibly due to the presence of excess carbon in the films not bound with tungsten, verified by the Raman spectrum.