Preparation of crystalline TiC thin films grown by pulsed Nd:YAG laser deposition using Ti target in methane gas

Titanium carbide (TiC) thin films that are smooth and pinhole-free have been synthesized on Si(100) substrates by a pulsed neodymium:yttrium–aluminum–garnet (Nd:YAG) laser deposition method using titanium and TiC targets in methane gas. Glancing angle X-ray diffraction (GXRD) showed that polycrystalline films with components of TiC and Ti can be prepared using a Ti target. Single-phase TiC films can be synthesized using a TiC target. It was found that the methane gas pressure can control the crystallinity and composition. The root-mean-square (RMS) roughness of the film, as measured by an atomic force microscope (AFM), was lower than 2 nm in all the deposition areas. The film thickness, measured by α-step, was about 92 nm and the growth rate was approximately 3.1 nm/min. Measurements of optical emission spectra were performed to estimate the processing plasma state.