Titanium nitride deposited by high rate rf hollow cathode plasma jet reactive process

Abstract

A radio frequency hollow cathode plasma jet (RPJ or RHCPJ) with a tubular Ti nozzle as a source of metal particles was used for the reactive deposition of TiN. The results of optical emission spectroscopy (OES), temperature measurements at the active zone of the hollow cathode and electrical characteristics are correlated with TiN deposition rate and with the parameters of films. The abrupt increase of the temperature at the target after admission of definite low content of nitrogen is associated with the transition of the system into an arc regime (RPJ Arc) which is responsible for the enhanced production of metal particles and the enhanced ionization in the discharge. This enhancement leads to the dramatic (20–30 × ) enhancement of the TiN growth rate compared with Ti films. The transition to RPJ-Arc is reflected by non-continuous change both of the film texture and of the film composition.