Investigation into the properties of titanium based films deposited using pulsed magnetron sputtering

Pulsed magnetron sputtering is widely used for the deposition of metal oxide films due to the inherent problems of the oxides being insulators. The pulsed power suppresses arcs and leads to improvement in deposition conditions. Metal films, however, are normally deposited using DC power. This study details the effects of pulsed power on the film properties of both titanium and titanium dioxide. The films were deposited using asymmetric bi-polar pulsed sputtering on a variety of substrates to allow for numerous analysis techniques. The pulse frequency was systematically varied in the range 0–350 kHz, for both the pure titanium metal and titanium dioxide. Analysis was carried out in terms of optical properties, microstructure, crystalline structure, scratch adhesion, wear resilience and hardness. Significant differences were observed in the properties of the pulsed and DC films. The properties of the pulsed films were also found to vary with pulse frequency. All the findings are reported here.