Characterizing the effects of multiprocess parameters on the preferred orientation of TiN coating using a combined index

The preferred orientations of TiN films deposited by various PVD processes have been extensively studied. However, deriving a general trend to illustrate the effect of a single process parameter is difficult since other process parameters also affect the evolution of the preferred orientation during the deposition. This study presents a combined index, S E /Temp(°K), to characterize the effects on the TiN preferred orientation of HCD ion-plating process parameters, such as bias voltage, deposition power, and temperature. The S E /Temp(°K) index is the ratio of the energy delivered to a unit volume of growing film ( S E ) to the deposition temperature. Experimental results show that the TiN preferred orientation changes from (2 0 0) to (1 1 1) and then to (2 2 0) as S E /Temp(°K) increases. Using this S E /Temp(°K) index, a single trend can completely describe the variation of the texture coefficient, obtained by variously adjusting deposition parameters. The S E /Temp(°K) index can singly characterize the effect of multi process parameters.