Study on Copper Nitride Thin Films Prepared by Reactive DC Magnetron Sputtering

Abstract

Copper nitride thin films were deposited on glass substrates by reactive DC magnetron sputtering at various N2-gas flow rates and different substrate temperature. X-ray diffraction measurements show that the films are composed of Cu3N crystallites with anti-ReO3structure and exhibit preferential orientation to the [111] and [100]. The preferred crystalline orientation of the films changes with the N2-gas flow rate and substrate temperature. The N2-gas flow rate and the substrate temperature not only affect the crystal structure of films but also affect the deposition rate, the resistivity and the microhardness of the Cu3N films.