Composition of Ti-N films: EDX analysis during the sputtering process

Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis was applied in-situ for measurements of composition, surface mass and deposition rate of Ti atoms during reactive sputtering. Electron beam excitation was used for the determination of composition and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) for the surface mass determination. Intensity measurements of the optical emission of Ti atoms agree well with the deposition rate of Ti atoms measured by XRF. The influences of nitrogen mass flow and negative bias substrate voltage on concentration and sputtering rate were investigated in homogeneous TiNx films and TiNx/TiNy multilayers.