Growth of tantalum boron nitride films on Si by radio frequency reactive sputtering: effect of N2/Ar flow ratio

Tantalum boron nitride (Ta–B–N) films are deposited on silicon substrates by radio frequency (rf) reactive sputtering of TaB2 in N2/Ar gas mixtures. The deposition rate, chemical composition, and crystalline microstructure are investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), glancing angle X-ray diffraction (GAXRD), and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, respectively. The results indicate that the deposition rate, film composition, and microstructure correlate well with the N2/Ar flow ratio. In addition, the deposition mechanism and kinetic model which control the film characteristics are presented as well.