TiN Sputtering Research Articles

Flexible and sensitive three-dimension structured indium tin oxide/zinc aluminum oxide/Cu composites thin-films pressure sensors for healthcare monitoring

Flexible pressure sensors play a crucial role in large-scale commercial applications, such as health monitoring, robotics, and smart devices. However, mass production of piezoelectric sensors for industrial applications is limited by their complex and cost-intensive fabrication processes. In this study, sensitive, simple, and wearable piezoelectric sensors were prepared by magnetron sputtering of indium tin oxide/zinc aluminum oxide (AZO)/Cu composite thin films onto three-dimension structured polydimethylsiloxane) substrate. The prepared flexible sensors delivered output voltages of −200 mV and +200 mV during 1000 loading and unloading cycles, respectively, showing an outstanding sensitivity and cycling performance. The piezoelectric performance of AZO films is primarily determined by the doping concentration of aluminum in AZO; the output voltage of the sensor with the optimal doping concentration was approximately 340 % higher than that of the undoped sample. Finite-element simulations demonstrated that the substrate with a square platform exhibited the most uniform stress distributions as well as the highest stress on its microstructure surface, which resulted in a high stress and sensitivity of the thin-film sensors. Experiments revealed that the incorporation of a microstructure enhanced the output voltages of the sensors. In particular, the output voltage delivered by the flexible sensors with square microstructures was approximately 60 % higher than that exhibited by those without microstructures.

Comparative Performance Evaluation of Magnetron Sputtered TiN, AlCrN, and TiAlCrN Coatings

This study presents a comparative performance evaluation of magnetron-sputtered TiN, AlCrN, and TiAlCrN coatings on tool steel substrates. Coatings play a pivotal role in enhancing the durability of engineering components exposed to harsh conditions. TiN is known for outstanding hardness and durability, AlCrN for superior wear resistance, and TiAlCrN for exceptional thermal stability and oxidation resistance. The substrate (EN 1.2363) underwent PVD coating using a closed-field unbalanced magnetron sputter ion plating (CFUBMSIP) process in a water-cooled stainless-steel vacuum chamber with four magnetron ports, operating for 3 hours per batch followed by 12 hours of natural convection cooling, utilizing TiN, AlCrN, and TiAlCrN films deposited for 180 minutes in an Ar and nitrogen atmosphere. X-ray diffraction (XRD) revealed distinctive crystal structures, with all coatings exhibiting a common preferred orientation of the (111) plane and TiAlCrN showing a ternary nitride phase. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images displayed the compact nature of TiAlCrN with finer grains, while TiN exhibited a densely compacted with no evidence of delamination and AlCrN showed denseness with smaller grains. Nano-indentation test was conducted to assess the coatings' hardness and elastic modulus. TiAlCrN exhibited the highest hardness (3091±243 HV), highest elastic modulus (369.86±54.19 GPa), and the best wear rate (0.1887 x 10-4 mm3/Nm-1) suggesting potential suitability for applications demanding superior rigidity and wear resistance. The study provides valuable insights for materials scientists and engineers in optimizing coating selection for specific applications.

Co-sputtered V2O5–TiN composite on Ag-network current collector for high-performance flexible transparent thin-film supercapacitors

Next-generation wearables require extremely capable electrochemical energy-storage devices that exhibit improved performance with high flexibility and transparency. Herein, we present a highly flexible and transparent electrochemical thin-film supercapacitor electrode fabricated by co-sputtering V2O5 and TiN on an Ag-network-based current collector. The electrodes' physical properties, optical properties, and structural morphologies are studied using X-ray diffraction, UV–visible spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. A symmetric device is fabricated using V2O5 and TiN on an Ag network, and the TiN sputter power is varied to optimize the performance. The device performance of the co-sputtered electrodes at various composition ratios is studied. The optimized V2O5–TiN (200−40)/Ag electrode device with pseudocapacitive behavior delivers an excellent areal specific capacitance of 98.66 mF cm–2 at a current density of 4 mA cm–2 with a charge retention of 90.12 % after 6000 cycles. The V2O5–TiN (200−40)/Ag electrode device outperforms other reported electrodes, with an energy density and power density of 30.83 μWh cm–2 and 2999.67 μW cm–2, respectively, and excellent mechanical stability.

Influence of Magnetron Sputtered TiN and VN Coatings on the Electrical Impedance of Aluminium Electrodes

In this work, TiN and VN coatings were applied on aluminium electrodes by direct current (DC) magnetron sputtering in order to study the influence of the protective coatings on the electrical impedance of the substrate. The structure of the samples was studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD). The microhardness of the substrate and the coated samples was also determined. The electrical impedance of the substrates with and without coatings was also studied and the results were used for evaluation of the applicability of such coatings for interface electrodes for flexible electronics. Electric impedance spectroscopy in a wide frequency range was applied for interlayer and surface contact properties determination. Results showed improved stability and conductivity of the electrodes coated using the TiN and VN thin films, particularly in the low frequency range.

Synthesis and Ti-N Sputtering of Zr-Nb Alloys for Dental Implant Material

Synthesis and sputtering of the Zr-2.5Nb alloys were performed for the dental implant material candidate. The alloy was synthesized by casting process in an arc melting furnace with an argon atmosphere in the composition of Zr-2.5 Nb (wt %). Surface treatment was carried out by Ti-N sputtering process with the current of 20 Ampere for 45 minutes. Characterization of the microstructure was performed by the SEM-EDX test followed by the phase identification using the XRD analysis. The hardness was measured in the Vickers Hardness Number method to evaluate the relation of the microstructure to the mechanical property before and after the sputtering process. A homogeneous structure with relatively fine grain was found in the synthesis of Zr-2.5Nb alloy. The layer thickness of Ti-N was formed with the mean thickness of 0.5 micrometers. Increasing of hardness was observed in the surface of the alloy that predicted improving the compatibility for dental implant material.

Investigation of the effect of ion implantation on tribotechnical characteristics of cast iron

The article presents studies of the tribotechnical characteristics of cast iron after various types of hardening. Samples (chemical composition of the obtained cast iron: C - 3.06%; Cu - 2.38%; Si - 2.2%; Mn - 0.75%; Cr - 0.32%; P - 0.18%; Ni - 0.1%; S - 0.05%, and Brinell hardness - 1.97-2.07 GPa) for wear tests were previously implanted with N+, B+, C+ ions, as well as TiN sputtering and carbonitration. The research was carried out on a friction machine making reciprocating motion along the counterbody. In the course of the work, the main tribotechnical characteristics of cast iron samples were analyzed in the initial state, after implantation, carbonitration and deposition of TiN. The surface morphology of cast iron samples was also studied using a scanning electron microscope in the initial state and after the above types of processing.

Passivation of Macroporous Si Using Sputtered Tin Coating for On-Chip Energy Storage

Passivation of Macroporous Si Using Sputtered Tin Coating for On-Chip Energy Storage

Predictive modelling of liquid metal divertor: from COMPASS tokamak towards Upgrade

Following ELMy H-mode experiments with liquid metal divertor target on the COMPASS tokamak, we predict the behavior of a similar target on COMPASS Upgrade, where it will be exposed to surface heat fluxes even higher than those expected in the future EU DEMO attached divertor. We simulate the heat conduction, sputtering, evaporation, excitation and radiation of lithium and tin in the divertor area. Measured high-resolution data from COMPASS tokamak were rescaled towards the Upgrade based on many established scalings. Our simulation then yields the amount of released metal which ranges from 4 mg s−1 upto 12 g s−1 depending mainly on the geometry and Li/Sn choice, quite independently from active cooling or strike point sweeping.

SnSe counter electrode prepared by sputtering and selenization of tin for SnO2-based DSSC: The effect of selenization temperature

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) have received a lot of attention nowadays. One of the most essential parts of DSSC is the counter electrode (CE), which is usually made of platinum. Since platinum is an expensive material, we suggest using the SnSe electrode. By selenizing a layer of coated tin on glass thru sputtering, we obtained SnSe and used this layer as the counter electrode in a DSSC. We also used tin oxide as photoanode in the structure of the solar cell. By changing the selenization temperature, we improved the charge transport and electrocatalytic properties of the layer and optimized the solar cell performance. We also investigated the morphological properties of the layers with FESEM images. We used CV and EIS analyses to test the electrocatalytic and charge transport properties. Also, the current-voltage curve of the constructed cells reveals that the cell, which is made of the synthesized layer at 450 °C with an efficiency of 4.9%, gives us the best performance.

Fabricación y caracterización de películas transparentes y conductoras utilizadas como contactos en estructuras MIM con películas SRO-LPCVD y SRO-HFCVD sobre sustrato de cuarzo

This work presents the manufacturing and characterization process of two types of transparent conductive oxide (TCO) films, as contacts. Aluminum doped zinc oxide (AZO) deposited with the Sputtering technique and tin doped indium oxide (ITO) using the pyrolysis spray technique, these transparent and conductive films were deposited as contacts on a film of siliconrich oxide (SRO) which was deposited by two systems of chemical vapor deposition by low-pressure (LPCVD) and by hotfilament (HFCVD) on quartz substrates with polysilicon film as metal contact, with the object of building two Metal-InsulatingMetal (MIM) structures, one with SRO-LPCVD film and another SRO-HFCVD thus highlighting the electrical characteristics of these structures. The precursors used for the LPCVD system are silane (SiH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) and for the HFCVD system the gaseous precursors are obtained from a solid quartz source stripped with atomic hydrogen. First, we present results of the optical characterizations of the TCO´s and SRO films, the band gap obtained by Tauc to calculate the size of the nanocrystal in SRO-films, causing light spots. And I-V curves of MIM structures with interesting results.

Features of water vapor adsorption and desorption on the surface of non-stoichiometric tin dioxide films

Herein, the influence of water vapor adsorption and desorption processes on the surface of SnO2−δ nanocrystalline films with different concentrations of oxygen vacancies on their electrical conductivity at room temperature was studied. SnO2−δ films were synthesized by means of reactive magnetron sputtering of tin in an argon-oxygen plasma followed by 2-stage oxidative annealing. The concentration of oxygen vacancies in the films was varied by changing the 2nd stage annealing temperature within the range 350–400 °C. It was found that in the films with the highest concentration of oxygen vacancies (~1020 cm−3) in the region of low relative humidity (less than ~30 %), an increase in electrical conductivity was observed due to the dissociative adsorption of water molecules with the formation of hydroxyl groups. The adsorption of water vapor on the surface of SnO2−δ films at room temperature at relative humidity values higher than ~30 % was found to induce a decrease in the electrical conductivity of the samples. The generation of positive and negative EMF pulses between the open surface of SnO2−δ nanocrystalline films and the one covered by waterproof materials under the adsorption and desorption of water vapor, respectively, was detected. The change of resistance and the generated EMF value under the adsorption-desorption processes was found to increase with the concentration of free charge carriers in the films.

PENGARUH SPUTTERING TiN TERHADAP KEKASARAN, KEKERASAN PERMUKAAN MATERIAL AISI316L

AISI 316L is widely used for implantation in orthopedic surgery due to its good corrosion resistance, mechanical properties and low cost. However, AISI 316L is not well suited for biocompatibility with the body, so implant material with AISI 316L can’t be used for a long time. One way to improve the corrosion resistance and mechanical properties of AISI 316L is to perform a surface treatment such as sputtering. This study discusses the effect of deposition sputtering TiN of 60, 90, 120 and 150 minutes on roughness and surface hardness at a ratio of argon gas and nitrogen to 80% Ar:20% N2. The results of the surface roughness value of the TiN sputtering layer deposited to AISI 316L for 60, 90, 120, and 150 minutes were 0.02 μm, 0.04 μm, 0.06 μm, and 0.04 μm respectively. This shows that the coating time of TiN in AISI 316L has no significant influence on value of surface roughness. Surface hardness results at 60, 90, 120, and 150 minutes were obtained with 268 HVN, 275 HVN, 278 HVN and 282 HVN. Increased hardness value, as the TiN thin layer has a higher hardness value compared to AISI 316L. The longer the deposition time, the more layers are formed and the layer becomes thicker. With the thickness of the layer, the density at the grain boundary increases. Because the higher density leads to grain growth, in which form micropores.

Control of Electrical and Optical Parameters of Humidity Sensors Active Elements Based on Tin Oxides Films with Variable Composition

The aim of this work is development of technique for synthesis of tin oxides films with various stoichiometric composition, characterized by high electrical conductivity and light transmittance in the UV and visible range of the electromagnetic spectrum, for their further application as humidity and gas sensors, as well as electrodes for electro-and photocatalytic converters.Nonstoichiometric SnO/SnO2 /SnO2−δ films were synthesized by reactive magnetron sputtering of tin onto glass substrates in argon plasma with oxygen addition and with subsequent thermal oxidation of the formed layers in air. To change the structural, optical, and electrical properties of the films and to find out the optimal synthesis parameters, the oxygen content during the deposition process and the annealing temperature in air were varied in the range of 0–2 vol. % and of 200–450 °C, respectively. The characterization of the films was carried out using a 4-probe method for measuring the electrical resistance, X-ray diffraction, and optical spectroscopy of light transmission.As a result of a comprehensive analysis of the structural, optical and electrical properties of the films, it was found that the optimal synthesis parameters to obtain the most transparent and conductive coatings promising for use as humidity, gas sensors and in photovoltaic devices are the following: oxygen content in argon plasma during sputtering process is ≈ 0,8–1,2 vol. %, the annealing temperature in air is ≈ 350–375 °C. In this case a polycrystalline film with high electrical conductivity and high transmittance in the visible and UV regions of the electromagnetic spectrum with prevailing of tin dioxide phase with structural defects (oxygen vacancies) is formed.

Magnetron sputtering of liquid tin: Comparison with solid tin

We compared the sputtering phenomena of liquid and solid Sn targets using a conventional magnetron sputtering apparatus. The erosion rate of liquid Sn was higher than that of solid Sn by a factor of 3 while the density of Sn atoms in the gas phase was almost the same when employing the liquid and solid targets. However, we observed the ejection of droplets from the liquid Sn target. This was a unique phenomenon in the sputtering of the liquid target, and may be a mechanism for the higher erosion rate of the liquid Sn target.

MoS2-TiN nanostructured electrodes fabricated using co-sputtering deposition method for high-performance lithium-ion batteries

For advanced high-performance lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), a novel anode material with a high capacity needs to be developed. In particular, molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) with a layered structure consisting of S-Mo-S formed by van der Waals force exhibits a high theoretical capacity (1280 mAh g−1). In this study, MoS2-TiN electrodes were fabricated using a radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering deposition method by which MoS2 and TiN sputtering targets could be individually controlled. As the RF power of the TiN target increased (20, 40, 60 W), the ratio of Ti in the electrodes increased and the ratio of Mo in the electrodes decreased. In particular, compared to pure MoS2, the MoS2-TiN with an optimum amount of TiN exhibited a high discharge capacity for 300 cycles and an improved high-rate cycling performance, i.e. an initial discharge capacity of 789.2 mAh g−1 with the maintained capacity of ∼700 mAh g−1 for 300 cycles. This demonstrates that TiN in the MoS2-TiN could reduce the volumetric variation caused by the conversion reaction of MoS2 and assist in the improvement of the electrodes.

Investigation of gate leakage current mechanism in AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistors with sputtered TiN

The gate leakage current mechanism of AlGaN/GaN Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) and high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) with sputtered TiN is systematically investigated. The reverse leakage current (JR) of TiN SBDs increases exponentially with the increase of reverse voltage (VR) from 0 to −3.2 V (Reg. I). This conduction behavior is dominated by Poole-Frenkel emission from TiN through an interface state of 0.53 eV to the conductive dislocation-related continuum states. The obtained interface state of 0.53 eV may be due to the plasma damage to the surface of the AlGaN/GaN HEMT structure during the TiN sputtering. When the TiN SBDs are biased with −20 < VR < −3.2 V, JR saturated due to the depletion of the 2-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) channel (Reg. II). This conduction behavior is dominated by the trap-assisted tunneling through the interface state at ∼0.115 eV above the Fermi level. The three terminal OFF-state gate leakage current of AlGaN/GaN HEMTs exhibited an activation energy of 0.159 eV, which is in close agreement with the obtained interface state of ∼0.115 eV from saturated JR (Reg. II) of the SBDs. The observation of the negative temperature coefficient (−1.75 V/K) from the OFF-state breakdown voltage (at 1 μA/mm) of AlGaN/GaN HEMTs is due to the trap-assisted tunneling mechanism, which is also well correlated with the conduction mechanism realized from the reverse leakage current of the SBDs.

Achievement of low parasitic resistance in Ge n-channel metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor using an embedded TiN-source/drain structure

We investigated the source/drain (S/D) parasitic resistance (RP) of a Ge n-channel metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (n-MOSFET) with TiN-S/D. The RP was as high as ∼1400 Ω, which is attributed to a very thin amorphous interlayer (a-IL) at a TiN/Ge interface. To solve this problem, n-MOSFETs with an embedded S/D structure were fabricated, of which the S/D was formed by the etching of a Ge layer using 0.03%-H2O2 solution followed by TiN sputter deposition. The electrical performances were investigated for devices with etching depths in the range of 2–22 nm. The devices with etching depths of 2–5 nm did not work. The devices with etching depths of 12–15 nm showed a quite normal transistor operation, and the RP was as low as ∼130 Ω, which is comparable to that of a p-MOSFET with PtGe-S/D. However, RPs of the devices with etching depths of ∼22 nm was considerably high. The reason for these results is discussed on the basis of an a-IL formation at the sidewall of the engraved S/D region.

Effect of Deposition Time on Hardness and Bonding Strength of Magnetron Sputtered TiN Coatings on 316 Stainless Steel

TiN coatings were prepared under different deposition time by magnetron sputtering technology. The effects of deposition time on microstructure and properties of TiN coatings were investigated by SEM, EDS, XRD, micro-hardness tester and scratch instrument, respectively. Results showed that coating thickness was gradually increasing with the prolonging of deposition time; The phases were mostly cub-TiN and a small amount of metal hex-Ti and tetr-Ti2N in TiN coatings; Deposition time has a great influence on surface morphology of TiN coatings; The hardness and adhesion of TiN coating both increased firstly and then decreased with the increase of deposition time. In this paper, TiN coating, whose thickness was 4 mm when deposition time was 5 hour, had excellent comprehensive performance, i.e., TiN coating was dense and smooth and its composite hardness was 34.46 GPa and its adhesive force was 16.00 N.

Analysis of Al diffusion processes in TiN barrier layers for the application in silicon solar cell metallization

An evaporated Al layer is known as an excellent rear metallization for highly efficient solar cells, but suffers from incompatibility with a common solder process. To enable solar cell-interconnection and module integration, in this work the Al layer is complemented with a solder stack of TiN/Ti/Ag or TiN/NiV/Ag, in which the TiN layer acts as an Al diffusion barrier. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements prove that diffusion of Al through the stack and the formation of an Al2O3 layer on the stack's surface are responsible for a loss of solderability after a strong post-metallization anneal, which is often mandatory to improve contact resistance and passivation quality. An optimization of the reactive TiN sputter process results in a densification of the TiN layer, which improves its barrier quality against Al diffusion. However, measurements with X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy show that small grains with vertical grain boundaries persist, which still offer fast diffusion paths. Therefore, the concept of stuffing is introduced. By incorporating oxygen into the grain boundaries of the sputtered TiN layer, Al diffusion is strongly reduced as confirmed by secondary ion mass spectroscopy profiles. A quantitative analysis reveals a one order of magnitude lower Al diffusion coefficient for stuffed TiN layers. This metallization system maintains its solderability even after strong post-metallization annealing at 425 °C for 15 min. This paper thus presents an industrially feasible, conventionally solderable, and long-term stable metallization scheme for highly efficient silicon solar cells.

Synthesis of the ‘Carbon Nanotubes-porous Silicon’ Hybrid Material for Gas Sensors

The present work represents the approach to develop the novel functional material for gas micro- and nanosensors. The isolated porous silicon arrays have been synthesized using the electrostatic mask method in the electro-chemical chamber. The hybrid material ‘carbon nanotubes-porous silicon’ has been synthesized on the isolated porous silicon arrays with the CVD process. The nanocomposite structure has been synthesized by tin sputtering on the hybrid material ‘carbon nanotubes-porous silicon’. The morphology and electro-physical properties of the nanocomposite structures have been investigated. The test gas sensor based on the nanocomposite structures showed high sensitivity to NO2 molecule absorption at room temperature.