The deposition of TiN thin films by energetic condensation from a filtered cathodic arc process

A filtered cathodic arc source has been used to deposit thin films of titanium nitride. The properties of the films are influenced by the nature of the condensation process. TiN films may be deposited directly onto heated substrates in a nitrogen atmosphere or onto unbiased substrates at ambient temperature by condensing the Ti⁺ ion beam under 500 eV N₂⁺ nitrogen ion bombardment. In the latter case the film stoichiometry was varied from a N:Ti ratio of 0.8 to 1.2 by controlling the relative arrival rates of Ti and nitrogen ions. Simple models are used to describe the evolution of compressive stress as a function of arrival ratio, and the composition of the ion assisted TiN films