Influence of the deposition parameters on the chemical composition of reactively rf sputtered TiO, on Si

The influence of the reactive gas mixture and substrate temperature on the chemical composition of reactively rf magnetron sputtered TiO, thin layers on Si substrates has been studied. A detailed investigation has been made of the transition layer between Si and TiO,. The composition of the films and the interface with the substrate were analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). It was shown that in the range of 0, contents (0.3-50%) and the substrate temperature used (room temperature-3OO”C), the layers always consisted of TiO, and no evidence of Ti suboxides or non oxidized Ti was found. The composition of the TiO,-Si interface region was found to depend on the deposition parameters. A SiO, intermediate layer between Si and TiO, was found to exist in all cases and its thickness to increase when increasing the 0, contents and the substrate temperature.